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Clarkson S. Wayne
S. Wayne Clarkson
Member ex officio of the NFB Board of Trustees
Executive Director
Telefilm Canada
Wayne Clarkson has dedicated his career to increasing the profile of Canadian filmmakers and their films. After graduating from Carleton University (where he later taught film), Clarkson worked for the Canadian Film Institute in Ottawa. In 1974, he completed graduate studies in film at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, England and returned to Ottawa to serve as director of the National Film Theatre.
In 1978, he was appointed Director of Toronto's two-year-old Festival of Festivals (now the Toronto International Film Festival). Under his directorship, the Festival developed into one of the most successful in the world. Clarkson accepted the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the newly created Ontario Film Development Corporation in 1986. Under his stewardship, the OFDC came to play an integral role in the development and production of quality, Canadian film and television.
In 1988, Clarkson took a leave of absence to join his wife in Bogota, Colombia, travelling throughout South and Central America. Prior to joining Telefilm Canada as Executive Director in January 2005, he was the Executive Director of the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) since 1991. Under his leadership, the Film Centre became the country's premier training and production centre for film, television and new media with 16 feature films produced, 115 short films, 30 new media prototypes and more than 700 graduates
