Few people understand the importance of the arts and cultural sector better than Cameron Bailey. He is the CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and is responsible for setting its strategic direction and leading its teams towards fulfilling TIFF’s mission to transform the way people see the world through film. Under his leadership, the festival has continued to grow in size and significance every year.
Bailey joined TIFF in 1990 as a seasonal programmer. He spent more than a decade as a festival programmer before being named artistic director and co-head. In 2021, Bailey assumed the role of CEO. Bailey has programmed and hosted TIFF’s highly successful subscription series, Reel Talk; headed its Perspective Canada series; and founded its Planet Africa section. Prior to TIFF, Bailey curated films for Cinematheque Ontario, The National Gallery of Canada, The National Film Board of Canada, and Australia’s Sydney International Film Festival.
For 20 years, Bailey has worked as both a programmer and critic, contributing to NOW Magazine, CBC Radio One and CTV’s Canada AM. He has also been published in The Globe and Mail, The Village Voice, and Screen, along with several books. In 2015, Bailey participated in CBC’s Canada Reads competition, successfully championing Kim Thuy’s novel, Ru.
Bailey has taught film curation at the University of Toronto and holds an honorary doctorate from Western University. He is a Chevalier in France’s Order of Arts and Letters, and for 10 consecutive years, Toronto Life named him one of “Toronto’s 50 Most Influential People.”
