Piers Handling, director and CEO of TIFF, has been with the festival for 36 years. ( Nathan Denette / CP )The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival is days away, but it already has its first show-stopper: Piers Handling is stepping down after nearly 25 years as head of the cinema giant that transformed both the city and its global image. “He’d be more than an obvious candidate, but I certainly don’t want to comment because it’s not my job to actually choose my successor,” Handling said. But Handling says he’s confident the organization can weather any storm, and he’s seen big ones in his time. The logjam began to break when Canadian rocker Neil Young said he’d be coming to TIFF to premiere his film Greendale, SARS or no SARS.

Source: thestar September 02, 2017 10:30 UTC