Claude Joli-Coeur has been named the government film commissioner and chair of the National Film Board for a term of five years.

Joli-Coeur was serving as the interim government and film commissioner and chair of the NFB since Jan. 1, 2014, after Tom Perlmutter resigned from the organization at the end of 2013.

Joli-Coeur’s history with the NFB dates back to October 2003 when he joined the organization as director of business affairs and legal services, and secretary to the board of trustees. He has served as the assistant commissioner for the NFB since June 2007.

The new appointment comes during a tumultuous year for the NFB.

The past year has seen, in addition to the departure of Perlmutter, the departures of Ravida Din, former director general of the NFB’s English Program; Silva Basmajian, exec producer for the Ontario region, who stepped down last July; Monique Simard, who left the NFB as director general of the French Program for a new role at SODEC in December 2013 and longtime NFB producer Gerry Flahive, who left organization in May following a career spanning almost three decades. 

– with files from Realscreen