Susanne Bell has been named CEO and film commissioner of SaskFilm, taking over at the provincial agency after 16 months as its interim boss. Bell — who stepped in following the departure of Valerie Creighton — was officially tapped for the job on Thursday.

SaskFilm chair Pam Klein praised her commitment to the province’s film and TV industries and her ‘intimate knowledge of the national and international marketplace’ in a release, adding that her experience will see SaskFilm ‘well positioned for continued growth and success in the years to come.’

Bell has been with SaskFilm since 1999, previously as its director of programs and services. Before that, she was attached to the now-defunct Heartland Motion Pictures.