Skip to main content
RBC
Cameron Bailey is arguably one of the most influential people in the film industry. Curator and CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival, he chats with Tony Chapman about where his love of film began, how he selects films for the festival and his view on the transformative power of film.

In a world where many have black and white views on what’s right and what is wrong, a film can transform perspectives. Cameron Bailey and the organization he leads, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), believe so.



In this episode of Chatter That Matters, Bailey discusses his early childhood experiences as an immigrant from Barbados and how spending weekends at the public library nurtured a love for stories. It wasn’t until university that he developed a new appreciation for film. When he discovered films could do more than simply entertain, films took him to new worlds … worlds he would eventually visit through his roles at TIFF.

Bailey discusses his job as curator and his responsibility to find films that will connect an audience and deliver what viewers are most curious about. A champion of international film, he chats about bringing Slumdog Millionaire — a movie destined for a straight-to-DVD release — to TIFF, and the incredible response it received at the festival (it went on to win the festival’s People’s Choice award and 8 Academy Awards that year).

He chats with Tony about the landmark Planet Africa program he launched, how he misses the collective response of a packed theatre, and how TIFF has been able to deliver the excitement of the festival in different ways throughout COVID.

Bailey presents diverse perspectives, languages, settings and stories at TIFF, bringing people together through alternate ways of seeing the world through film.

Tony Chapman created the Chatter that Matters podcast to counter the storm of negativity and impossibility with true stories of ordinary people who do extraordinary things. He chats with Olympians, Advocates, Celebrities, Leaders, and people who battled what seemed like insurmountable odds.

In doing, listeners hear life lessons that inspire all of us to do more and to be more, to help us get to where we need, want and deserve to go. RBC is the presenting sponsor.

To listen to this show, go to chatterthatmatters.ca, download Chatter That Matters at I Heart Radio or tune in Fridays at noon to these radio stations:

  • Newstalk 1010, Toronto
  • CFRA 580 Ottawa
  • CJAD 800 Montreal
  • CJBK 1290 London
  • Newstalk 610 St. Catharine’s
  • CKLW 800 Windsor
  • CKFR 1150 Kelowna
  • CFAX 1070 AM Victoria
  • Or Fridays at 8 p.m. on BNN Bloomberg CFTE 1410 Vancouver