Toronto-based director Jean-Marc Piche has made a dramatic leap from one of Toronto’s top commercial production houses to another when he recently left Avion Films to join Industry Films. Piche, who has made a name for himself directing in Toronto, Montreal and the u.s. (where he is repped by Conspiracy in New York), says he expects his new Industry home-base will offer him new challenges in directing.

‘I think I am going to a company that from what I’ve heard and seen for months before coming here, is the most interesting production company in Toronto,’ says Piche, who in the same breath remarks that, in his opinion, Industry is also amongst the most interesting currently in North America. ‘It is a very aggressive, young and modern company that is aware of what is happening not only in Toronto but what is happening in the world.’

The jump to Industry, says Piche, is more than just a change of atmosphere, however. He says his move will give him a chance to really excel at directing and take on a series of new challenges.

‘By the quality of directors they have here (at Industry), I thought it would be a good challenge for me to come here and not only compete against other companies, but also compete with the directors here who are of very high quality,’ he says.

Industry Films president and executive producer Tina Petridis says her company sees the acquisition of Piche as a victory, although it was actually Piche who sought her out.

‘There were other companies that were very interested in Jean-Marc and certainly the weak point of our roster was in the locally based directors,’ say Petridis. ‘When Jean-Marc decided he needed a new direction in his career, I am very happy to say this is the place he wanted to be.’

Petridis says Industry was interested in Piche for many other reasons apart from the fact that he is a local talent.

‘He does very good work, so you don’t look at him and say, ‘He is local so we’ll just make it work for the budget,” says Petridis. ‘Most of our roster is u.s.-based and I want nothing more than to see Canadian directors prosper and do really well. There is no reason why they shouldn’t. For me, it is a victory in saying we have a local director on our roster who is of the calibre of some of the Americans.’

Piche says he is comforted by the fact he may soon be doing more work in Toronto, something he has been striving for. In a previous interview with Playback, Piche had mentioned he is typically on the road 20 days out of each month – traveling to a shoot, shooting or doing some other film-related work. He also mentioned that he was doing the bulk of his directorial work in the u.s., a trend he hopes will change now that he is with Industry.

‘I hope I’ll be able to stay a little bit more in Toronto and work more in the town where I live,’ he states. ‘I think Industry will help me do that and keep my marriage in a good way.’

Petridis says like any instance when a director jumps one ship to board another there is the potential for awkwardness between the two companies affected. She is thankful that after Industry’s acquisition of Piche from Avion her relationship with Avion executive producer Michael Schwartz and his company remains strong.

‘(Piche) already has a terrific reputation and we are certainly thankful to Avion for having given him that and we are going to build on that,’ says Petridis. ‘Everybody hates to lose a director – especially if he or she is a good director – but I think with the way this was done there is certainly no bad blood for Jean-Marc, Industry or Michael (Schwartz).’

Overall, Petridis and Piche both seem genuinely excited about their new arrangement. Petridis adds Industry’s head of sales, Eva Preger, is working tirelessly at placing Piche strategically in the Industry roster, scrutinizing his reel and studying the finer points of his abilities.

‘It just adds so much for me personally that he is Canadian, but the work is still there,’ says Petridis. ‘If the work isn’t there, then all of this really means nothing, but we are really getting the best of both worlds.’