Toronto International Film Festival CEO and director Piers Handling is the winner of the 2014 Toronto Film Critic Association’s Technicolor Clyde Gilmour Award, the organization announced Thursday.

The award honours Canadians whose work has enriched the appreciation and understanding of film in Canada. As part of the award, Handling will endow a filmmaker of his choice with $50,000 worth of services from Technicolor Creative Services. The fillmaker chosen to recieve the services will be announced on Jan. 6 at the TFCA Awards gala in Toronto at The Carlu. Previous winners of the award include James Quandt, Robin Wood, Allan King and, most recently, Norman Jewison.

The TFCA will unveil the majority of its 2014 award winners on Dec. 16, including the winners of the Manulife student film award and the Scotiabank Jay Scott Prize for an emerging artist.

The three finalists for the Rogers Best Canadian Film award will also be announced then, with the winner named at the TFCA Awards gala. The best film award comes with a grand prize of $100,000, with $5,000 awarded to each of the runners-up.

Photo credit for Piers Handling photo: George Pimentel, WireImage Getty for TIFF