Official statement from Carolle Brabant, Executive Director of Telefilm Canada, on the passing of TIFF co-founder Bill Marshall

“On behalf of the entire Telefilm Canada team, I would like to express my sadness regarding the death of Bill Marshall. He was truly a Canadian film pioneer.

“Notably, as an industry leader, Bill Marshall helped establish the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television and the Toronto Film and Television Office.

“But his biggest legacy is co-founding the Toronto International Film Festival.

“TIFF began small but became one of the world’s most influential film events largely because of his vision of creating a public festival. Thanks to the Toronto International Film Festival, numerous Canadian cinema classics have premiered to audiences and many homegrown filmmaker careers have been launched.

“His tenacity and ambition will be sadly missed by the Canadian industry. My heartfelt condolences go out to his wife and family.”