Julie Roy is the new Executive Director and CEO of Telefilm Canada. The national film funder announced the news today on the heels of a big night for Canadian talent at the Oscars, which saw wins for filmmakers Sarah Polley and Daniel Roher. Roy will make the move to Telefilm Canada following her term as Director General and Programming Chief Officer of Creation, Distribution, and Marketing at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). During her time with the NFB, Roy helped the Board develop a filmmaker-forward strategic plan that emphasized a wider representation of Canadian voices. She also helped steer filmmakers through the challenges of COVID-19 era production with projects like The Curve while bolstering the presence for NFB films across streaming platforms worldwide.
Roy comes to the role with an extensive background as an executive producer. Before being promoted within the NFB, Roy served as executive producer of the French Animation Studio. Projects during her tenure were marked by formal innovation and worldwide acclaim, including Bad Seeds (2021), which made the Oscar shortlist, the multi-award winning The Physics of Sorrow (2019), and the Oscar nominee Blind Vaysha (2016). Roy is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
“I’m honoured to be appointed to lead Telefilm Canada,” said Roy in a statement. “The country’s digital landscape is in a state of change and the challenges ahead are significant and exciting. There are opportunities ahead of us. We must seize them in order to increase the influence of our talent and our industry. In this context, Telefilm Canada’s mission will be more relevant than ever. I will undertake my mandate by relying on the skills of our teams and the mobilization of our industry partners.”
“Ms. Roy is a proven bilingual leader who is well versed of the current challenges facing the audiovisual industry,” added Robert Spickler, Chair of Telefilm’s Board of Directors. “As an ardent advocate of equity, diversity, and inclusion on both sides of the camera, she will continue the work already begun by Telefilm and its partners to achieve an inclusive and representative industry.”
Roy’s appointment with Telefilm Canada will be a five-year term. It begins on April 3.
