Toronto Film Festival Appoints Top Industry Advisors

A seven-strong group of industry names has signed on to help steer the Toronto International Film Festival’s content market into being.

Niv Fichman, Vincent Maraval, Jérôme Paillard, Noah Segal, Monique Simard, Roeg Sutherland and Kerry Swanson are the inaugural members of an advisory committee convened by TIFF ahead of the market launch in 2026.

Speaking to Deadline during the Berlin Film Festival, Anita Lee, Chief Programming Officer, TIFF, said that committee will ultimately comprise about 12 members. Having set its North American and European members, it will now add some more international firepower.

A noteworthy wrinkle is that execs with TV experience are expected to join the advisory group – with the new market spanning more than just film and covering series as well.

There has long been an unofficial market at Toronto and the plans for an official market are about positioning TIFF “as a gateway to North America” for international execs, TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said when it was announced in sunny Cannes last May.

Here, in snowy Berlin, Lee elaborated. She said the market will be located in a central hub with booths and exhibition space and the TIFF team are looking at venues in Downtown Toronto. It does not yet have official branding, with the moniker for the newbie market likely to be unveiled at Cannes.

“There’s been a lot of interest, a lot of excitement, and we’ve been given lot of advice,” Lee said when asked about reaction to the news the market was launching. “Setting up this advisory committee is really the result of that. We’re listening to the industry.”

The committee will provide industry-level smarts as the new market takes shape. It has chunky funding behind it, with C$23M (US16.2M) of investment from the Canadian government spread over three years up until launch.

TIFF will have its 50th edition this year and is setting the stage for the 2026 market launch. The plan is to grow the number of industry delegates from circa 5,000 to over 12,000 in three-to-five years.

“What we’ve heard from new companies, new producers, and especially internationally, is that for them, TIFF having an official market means that larger delegations can attend, that they can receive support from their national bodies,” Lee said.

She added: “What I’ve also really heard from new companies, producers, sales, agents, etc, is that when there is an official market it creates accessibility. It creates an infrastructure for them to come in and be able to navigate the marketplace.”

Here’s the full list of advisory board members and their roles.

Niv Fichman (Canada): Founder, Rhombus Media 

Vincent Maraval (France): CEO, Goodfellas

Jérôme Paillard (France): Film Industry Consultant

Noah Segal (Canada): Co-President & Co-Founder, Elevation Pictures

Monique Simard (Canada): Former President, Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC)

Roeg Sutherland (US): Co-Head, Media Finance & Co-Head, International Film Group, CAA

Kerry Swanson (Canada): CEO, Indigenous Screen Office