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Former director and CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). He held this position from 1994 to 2018, responsible for leading both the operational and artistic growth of the organization. TIFF has a $40 million annual operating budget and employs more than 150 full-time staff. TIFF has been named one of the Greater Toronto Area's Top 50 employers.
Under Handling's direction, the organization had grown to become an internationally renowned cultural institution. In 2010, TIFF opened its own permanent home which presents daily programming. TIFF Lightbox houses five cinemas, two exhibition galleries, and educational and learning studios. He led the $196 million fundraising campaign.
Handling curated numerous film retrospectives and presented programmes of Canadian cinema at the Sundance Film Festival, the British Film Institute, the Havana Film Festival and sat on festival juries including Cannes, Tokyo, Rotterdam, San Sebastian, Torino, and Istanbul. In 2013, Handling co-curated a mutli-platform celebration of iconic Canadian director David Cronenberg. The Cronenberg Project included a comprehensive film exhibition, a virtual museum, an art exhibition presented in partnership with the Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art, and two original publications celebrating the film and art exhibitions.
Prior to joining the Toronto International Film Festival in 1982, Handling began his career at the Canadian Film Institute (CFI), ultimately becoming Deputy Director. After leaving the CFI, he taught Canadian cinema at Carleton University in Ottawa and Queen's University in Kingston. He has published extensively on Canadian cinema and edited numerous books.
Handling has been honoured with the "Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres," France's highest cultural insignia. In 2003, he was named CEO of the Year by the Canadian Public Relations Society (Toronto). He holds three Honorary Doctorates from Ryerson University, York University and OCAD University; and has sat on a number of Boards and advisory councils including FAME (Festivals and Major Events), the Canadian Film Centre, Tafelmusik, Luminato, Telefilm Canada's Feature Film Advisory Committee, Ontario's Minister of Culture's Advisory Council for Arts and Culture (MACAC) and the Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation. In September 2012, Handling was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, David Onley and the Countess of Wessex during a ceremony at Queen's Park, and was inducted into the Playback Hall of Fame for his significant role in building the film industry in Canada.
In January 2014, Handling was invested into the Order of Ontario, the province's highest official honour, by Lieutenant Governor David Onley.
In January 2015, he was awarded the Clyde Gilmour Award - Toronto Film Critics Association.
