December 10, 2013 - 1:12 PM
MONTREAL - The National Film Board of Canada is losing Tom Perlmutter as its chairman.
Perlmutter says he will step down as government film commissioner and NFB chairman on Dec. 31 to devote himself to writing about long-term issues affecting the arts and public cultural organizations.
He has plans for two books: the first about "how to instigate and manage major institutional change in a time of ongoing and rapid disruption," and another that "will set the philosophic foundations for the necessity of public space in a digital era."
The NFB says Perlmutter will stay on as a strategic adviser while assistant commissioner Claude Joli-Coeur will serve as interim commissioner. The board adds that the search for a replacement will begin in 2014 and should be completed that year.
Perlmutter was appointed for a second five-year term in May 2012.
A former filmmaker himself, Perlmutter joined the NFB in December 2001 as director general of English Program and became head of the organization in 2007.
As chair, he initiated a digital transformation that included the creation of the online screening room NFB.ca, the introduction of mobile apps and the digitization of the NFB's entire collection.
"For some time now, I have been searching for a way to step back from the day-to-day responsibilities of the film commissioner and focus on long-term strategic issues," Perlmutter said Tuesday in a release.
"This is an ambitious undertaking which I believe I am uniquely qualified to take on and which I am convinced is fundamental to the future well-being of the country and its cultural agencies."
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013