Grabbed this from the mothership, aka the main indieWIRE site page, penned by Brian Brooks: a spotlight on the Toronto International Film Festival’s programmers – one of the most prestigious in the world.

The 10-day festival has been gradually unveiling its 2011 lineup, as its showcase dates draw near – September 8th to 18th. We’ve covered a few of the films in this year’s lineup.

Below, one of the festival’s head honchos – co-director Cameron Bailey – profiles himself (as the title of the post says, “in his own words” or “in their own words” as the main IW article is tagged). Questions asked and answered include “autobiographical info, advice on how to approach submitting a film and their views on festivals’ evolving roles and place in the artistic and business landscape. And we asked them to throw in some recent favorite films for good measure.“

So, without further ado, here’s an excerpt from Cameron Bailey, Co-Director of TIFF, in his own words, starting with a brief bio (you’re certainly encouraged to check out the other 7 profiles HERE):

Student, rabble-rouser, critic, dropout & TIFF trailblazer…

English literature student. Discovered theory at a tender age. Cinema Studies grad school dropout. Minor cultural rabble-rouser and alt-weekly film critic in Toronto. I began programming for TIFF in 1990. First I helped choose Canadian films, then dreamed up our Planet Africa programme, then retired and went back to writing. Was yanked back into the organization in 2005, programming Africa, South Asia and the Philippines. In 2008 I took up the role of Festival Co-Director.

We strive to be the leading public film festival in the world. We’re here to serve our audience. Luckily we have one of the most informed and enthusiastic audiences in the world. And luckily the world’s filmmakers, critics, buyers and sellers seem to be aware of that.

You can read the rest of it HERE.