Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm has shuffled its top execs, promoting Guy Gagnon to the newly created positions of executive managing director and chairman of the board, while upping Patrick Roy as his replacement as president.

The pair is credited for the recent successes of the Quebec-based distributor, which, since 2000, has seen great box-office returns on domestic titles including 2002’s Séraphin: Un homme et son péché, 2003’s La grande séduction and Bon Cop, Bad Cop, which earlier this month crossed the $12-million mark at the box office, cementing its position as the country’s all-time domestic box-office winner.

Roy takes on more corporate and managerial duties. ‘It will be a little bit different, but we’ll continue to do the same things as last week,’ he says. ‘Our jobs change, but not too dramatically.’

He is optimistic that Vivafilm’s winning streak will continue – citing upcoming Quebec-mades including Ma fille mon ange, directed by newcomer Alexis Durand-Brault, Nitro, produced by Pierre Even (C.R.A.Z.Y.), and auteur Denys Arcand’s latest, L’Âge des ténèbres.

‘All these films should give us a great year in 2007,’ says Roy.

Ma fille, a thriller, is due in theaters for February. Dates have not been set for the action-y Nitro or Ténèbres.

Roy repeated calls for increased federal funding to Quebec film, warning that recent shortfalls from Telefilm Canada stand to reduce the number of releases.

‘Unless we have more money, the number of films we release will be reduced. That’s a big problem,’ he says.

Roy was among the stakeholders who worked on the recent overhaul of Telefilm’s funding rules for French-language films.

‘We had to deal with the money that’s there, but we really hope the federal government will step up with more.’

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