A good leader listens to his team, whether they’re down the hall or across the country. He solicits and values their opinions, and supports their dreams. And if his passions are Canada and its film and television industry, that leader is probably Telefilm Canada executive director, Francois Macerola.

Macerola has made accessibility and inclusion a hallmark of his mandate at Telefilm, and when you talk to people in the industry they agree. ‘Telefilm has a culture of consultation,’ says Norm Bolen, executive VP programming for Alliance Atlantis Communications. Producer Colin Neale has known Macerola since the two started out at the National Film Board in 1970, and praises Macerola’s qualities of consensus building, keeping an open mind, and building a great team.

But coupled with his generosity of spirit is some strategic thinking in pursuit of a goal. Macerola wants to encourage a variety of creative voices to tell the stories of Canada. ‘When I was appointed film commissioner at the National Film Board, I saw that you can’t depict the Canadian reality with only one or two points of view, being Toronto or Montreal. People should have access to a diversity of voices and styles and genres.’

To help things along, Macerola established regional production offices at the NFB. Later at Telefilm, he made the difficult decision to decentralize and transform the organization into what he calls a ‘real national organization where everybody will have a say in the future of the organization, and where everybody can participate in the development of our film and television industry.’

Macerola’s desire to give Canadian filmmakers the financial resources to create quality product that draws an audience at home and abroad, resulted in the creation of a new Canadian Feature Film Fund, the revamped Canadian Television Fund and the Multimedia Fund. ‘He believes in the industry,’ says Quebec filmmaker Denise Robert, ‘and he’s got a passion for it. If you have enough passion you can convince enough people to finance your film…and Francois has a passion for film and he was able to convince the government to support it.’

Macerola also believes in the equal participation of women in the industry. In fact, in the early 1980s he established an equity program at the NFB, and there are many women occupying important posts at Telefilm. WIFT – Montreal recognized him in April of this year with the Friends of WIFT – Montreal award, a commendation previously given only to women.

‘For me, I was very, very proud and very, very happy,’ recalls Macerola with obvious warmth, but he is also matter-of-fact. ‘For me it’s not only a question of having to go along with the decision of the government to establish an equity program. For me it was natural…Do I choose the man or the woman? The answer was always the most competent person, and very often it was a woman. For me it’s the way I’ve always interpreted the Canadian reality…there are competent women and competent men…and the competent people should be able to add their voices to the diversity of this country.’

Macerola’s desire to keep everything equitable may come from his training as a lawyer, but his love for the film and TV business goes back to his days as a member of the cineclub at the University of Montreal more than 30 years ago.

His chosen field came as a shock to his father. ‘At a certain point I met somebody who was director of distribution at the NFB and he remembered me because I worked there as a student. He said, ‘How about a full-time job at the NFB?’ to the great despair of my father, because my father is Italian, born in Italy. For him, film was an entertainment but law was something serious.’

But Macerola was serious, too, and he accepted the offer. Since then he has worked at the NFB as a producer, executive producer, distributor and commissioner, with Groupe Lavalin as a consultant in communications, at Imax, with Malofilm in distribution, and now at Telefilm, where he’s been for nearly seven years. ‘My life is film and TV,’ he says.

And until his Telefilm mandate ends in July, he will continue to fine-tune the CTF with his colleagues, make sure the Canada Feature Film Fund is under control, hopefully attend the first advisory council meeting, and witness the relaunching of the Multimedia Fund.

‘Telefilm Canada is now a $250-million organization. When I arrived…it was $125 million or $135 million. And I’m dreaming of the day when it will be a half-billion-dollar organization,’ says Macerola.

‘I’m dreaming of the day when Telefilm Canada will be involved not only in film and in television and multimedia, but in some other ways of expression. I hope that it will eventually be involved in music, involved in book publishing, so that the creative people of this country will have access to all the federal programs through Telefilm Canada.’

And chances are good that Macerola will be part of it.

‘But for sure, you know my life is film and television,’ he says. ‘Someday I will come back, in what kind of capacity I don’t know, but for sure in that milieu.’

-www.telefilm.gc.ca