In the weeks leading up to the 29th Toronto International Film Festival, Playback caught up with new festival codirector Noah Cowan. Cowan officially joined TIFF Group CEO Piers Handling as codirector Jan. 1, overseeing programming and administration for TIFF 2004.

The 36-year-old Cowan started working for the festival in 1981 at its box office, and by 2000 had become associate director of programming. In 2001, he left the festival to pursue his New York-based distribution company Cowboy Pictures, of which he sold his interests the following year. Most recently, he acted as creator and executive director of Global Film Initiative, a not-for-profit foundation that promotes cinema from the developing world.

TIFF’s plan is for Cowan and Handling to share the role of codirector for three years, after which point Cowan will assume the handle of director. By the time Cowan gets the promotion, TIFF is slated to have a new home, the $120-million Festival Centre in downtown Toronto.

The first year of Cowan’s return to TIFF sees the dismantling of Perspective Canada in favor of showcasing films from directors making their TIFF debuts in the Canada First! sidebar, and sprinkling works from veterans among the fest’s other international programs.

PB: With the countdown to the festival well underway, is everything on track?

NC: We’re working around the clock and are in the process of scheduling right now.

PB: What has been the biggest challenge in your role as TIFF codirector?

NC: Consolidating [TIFF’s] role as Canada’s primary film home. Traditionally we’ve been the most significant launching pad for Canadian films into the international marketplace. We have been tinkering with the way we program Canadian films and the way we present them at the festival, to ensure that we retain that position.

PB: Why did the festival change its approach to programming Canadian films this year?

NC: We retired the Perspective Canada program mostly at the urging of Canada’s filmmaking community, and have moved Canadian films into international programs like Real to Reel, Contemporary World Cinema and Special Presentations. The roots of Perspective Canada, to elevate the newest generation of Canadian filmmakers, have been renewed in the Canada First! program.

Over the last 20 years, Canada has developed a large and prolific group of filmmakers who stand shoulder to shoulder with the very best in the international community. So, to have a program that continues to corral them within a national cinema promotion entity doesn’t really make sense for anybody. Who needs the help and the boost of an individual program? The emerging filmmakers.

PB: What factors went into deciding how to restructure Canadian films in the festival?

NC: We had a sense that this change in the Canadian filmmaking landscape was going on. We went into serious consultation over six months with many of the leaders within the filmmaking community and the Canadian film industry about the possibility of the change to the programming.

The other thing we’re doing differently to benefit Canadian filmmakers this year is [holding] second press and industry screenings towards the end of the festival. [Toronto] is a big festival and people have a lot of conflicting professional needs here, so we’ve given people a second opportunity to see our national cinema.

PB: Is there a new selection process for Canadian films?

NC: Canadian films still go through the Canadian film selection committee [including Steve Gravestock, Stacey Donen and Liz Czach], which is a reconstitution of the Perspective Canada selection committee. All Canadian films that play in the festival [were selected by the current committee] and have been recommended by them to the rest of the programmers.

PB: How did the festival change during the years you weren’t working there?

NC: I learned three things about the festival from the perspective of a New York civilian. One, the Toronto International Film Festival stands alone as the most significant platform for films destined for awards season. Two, it is a fundamental place to discover the very best of Canadian cinema. And three, it is truly the festival of international discovery. This is where you find the films and filmmakers that are going to make an impact on the global scene.

PB: Has it been difficult to assume the role of public face of the festival?

NC: I’m not the public face of the festival. There are many of us who share responsibilities in that. I’m happy to help out when I can, but it’s a team effort.

One of the great strengths of the Toronto film festival is that it has this very diverse group of programmers who have complete autonomy in their selection. That creates a really different dynamic than at many of the other leading festivals in the world. There are 20 of us acting as public faces to the world.

PB: How is the festival adapting to changes in the international industry?

NC: [We’ve gained] more clarity about how we’re perceived by the international community. One of the nice things about having two [codirectors] is we have more time to talk to people and find out what the international industry looks to us for and what holes they see missing in the international festival world that Toronto could possibly fill.

This year we’ve really extended our scheduling throughout the festival. There [have] always been a lot of big films lumped in the first weekend, but now there are going to be public screenings of films for sale as early as Thursday, Sept. 9, and there will be major films on the auction block as late as Friday the 17th. The idea is to make it an easier place for buyers and sellers to do their job.

PB: What is the status of Festival Centre, TIFF’s future home?

NC: My understanding is that the building is going great, fundraising is going great and there will be announcements to come.

The future of the organization is really focused on Festival Centre. It’s going to be hugely important and useful for the film festival in terms of centralizing offices, the ability to control and manage press and industry screenings more effectively, as well as the ability to expand the reach of the festival.

But how Festival Centre is really going to affect the Canadian film industry is that all the other branches of what we do are going to expand so much. Whether it’s the children’s programming coming out of Sprockets, or our existing sales and industry center, it will increase our ability to help Canadian producers and filmmakers springboard even faster and more efficiently into the international marketplace. We’re working incredibly hard to ensure that the center is about the year-round support and promotion of Canadian cinema.