The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has hired Judy Lung to its executive team as VP, public relations and communications.

Effective Monday (June 5), Lung (pictured) will lead the organization’s communications team, overseeing support for the annual festival and year-round programming.

In addition to overseeing TIFF’s strategic PR and communications strategy, she will be responsible for the planning, development and execution of its external and international communications, according to a news release.

Lung joins TIFF following her most recent role as director, communications at Cineplex, after two decades of work in the Canadian entertainment industry. She was VP, communications and marketing at Touchwood PR prior to joining Cineplex, and has also held senior publicity roles at Shaftesbury and Corus Entertainment. In addition, she previously worked at TIFF as media relations manager.

TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said in a statement that Lung “brings an impressive breadth of experience, including past positions with TIFF, and has established strong relationships with media, creators, talent, and industry stakeholders in Canada and around the world.”

Canadian shorts head to Shanghai

Two Canadian short films have been selected for the Shanghai International Film Festival’s (SIFF) Golden Goblet Award competition. Leah Johnston’s narrative short Mother’s Skin – which had its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival and recently won at the Screen Nova Scotia Awards – will compete in the live action short category. Una Lorenzen’s Canada/Iceland copro Chasing Birds – which won Best Animated Short Film at Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma earlier this year – was selected in the animated short category. SIFF runs from June 9 to 18.

TAAFI co-founder departs board of the directors

Mainframe Studios’ Karen Jackson has been appointed as chair of the board at the Toronto Animation Arts Festival International (TAAFI), succeeding the festival co-founder Barnabas Wornoff, who will be departing as chair after more than a decade.

Current board member Matthew Celestial, president and CEO of public relations firm Statement Strategies, has also been named treasurer.

Wornoff said in a statement that “under Karen’s leadership, TAAFI will reach its fullest potential, while continuing to be a driving force in the animation industry.” He added that Jackson has a “deep respect and commitment” to the TAAFI community. “I leave the board in good hands,” he said.

TAAFI is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2012 and runs an annual animation festival, as well as year-round programming to showcase animated works and connect artists. This year’s festival ran virtually from Feb. 13 to 15, followed by in-person events from Feb. 16 to 18 at Hot Docs Cinema.

Doberman Pictures adds head of production role

Vancouver animation studio Doberman Pictures has promoted Sarah Wall to the newly created position of head of production.

The role will see Wall responsible for all titles on Doberman’s production slate. The studio was founded in 2018 with a specialization in preproduction for kids and family animation, and has provided services for DreamWorks Animation and Netflix, said a news release.

Wall previously held a senior production role at WildBrain (then DHX Media) at their Vancouver animation studio before joining Doberman Pictures.

Canadian copro wins at Docs-in-Progress Awards

Canadian/Colombian project The Soldier’s Lagoon by Pablo Alvarez-Mesa won the Docs in Orbit Invitation Award at the Docs-in-Progress Awards, held as part of Cannes Docs.

The award gives the winning filmmaker an invitation to be featured on the Docs in Orbit podcast, including an interview for the film’s world premiere and year-round exposure on the podcast’s website and social media. The Soldier’s Lagoon retraces the journey Simón Bolívar made 200 years ago during his liberation campaign across Colombia.

The film was one of four selected as part of the Canadian Showcase from Forum RIDM, presented in partnership with Telefilm Canada.

With files from Realscreen