The head of one of the world’s biggest and most important film festivals will be speaking at Trent University on Thursday, November 23rd.
Cameron Bailey, CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), will be delivering a talk entitled “Creating An Urban Cultural Hub” for Trent University’s Tapscott-Lopes Business and Society Lecture, which brings prominent speakers to the university and the community to address issues of values and ethics as they pertain to business and society.
Bailey’s talk, which is free and open to the public, begins at 7 p.m. in Stohn Hall in the Trent Student Centre at 1680 West Bank Drive in Peterborough, and will also be livestreamed for those unable to attend in person. He will also be delivering the same talk earlier in the day at 1 p.m. at the Trent Durham GTA Advanced Learning Centre at 11 Simcoe Street North in Oshawa.
To register for either event, visit mycommunity.trentu.ca/tapscott-lopeslecture.
Born in London, England to parents from Barbados, Bailey spent his early childhood in Barbados before moving to Canada with his family at the age of eight. Educated at the University of Western Ontario in London, he worked as a film reviewer for various media companies including Toronto’s NOW Magazine and CBC Radio One before joining TIFF in 1990 as a seasonal programmer.
More than two decades later, he was named TIFF’s artistic director and, in 2018, was promoted to the newly created position of artistic director and co-head. Following the resignation of co-head Joana Vicente in 2021, Bailey was named the festival’s executive director and, later that year, was appointed CEO.
“Few people understand the importance of the arts and cultural sector better than Cameron Bailey,” reads a description on Trent University’s website. “Bailey brings a comprehensive wealth of experience to his position, and under his lead the festival continues to grow in size and significance every year. In his engrossing and highly customized talks, Bailey traces what it takes to grow a cultural organization, from engaging staff at all levels, to harnessing the energy of local citizens and politicians to, finally, capturing the attention of the world.”
