NFB Appoints New Director General of English Program

MONTREAL: Ravida Din has been named director general of the English Program for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), effective February 11.

Since 2007 Din has served as an executive producer at the NFB, where her credits include such titles as Pink Ribbons, Inc., The Boxing Girls of Kabul, Payback and Up the Yangtze. She was also the head of the English Program’s Atlantic and Quebec Centres.

In 2009 Din, along with Studio XX, produced First Person Digital, a training and production program for women that focuses on new approaches to storytelling. Status Quo? The Unfinished Business of Feminism in Canada, one of her most recent productions, won the World Documentary Award at the Whistler Film Festival in Canada late last year.

"I have worked with Ravida for many years and have always been impressed by her fierce intelligence and passionate engagement with creators and the creative process," said Tom Perlmutter, government film commissioner and chairperson of the NFB. "Among the excellent candidates interviewed for the position, Ravida stood out for her strategic vision and her ability to understand the complex issues the NFB will be facing in the coming years. With her sensitivity and open-mindedness, she will make a sound contribution to the Management Committee and help shape the future of our institution."

Din added: "Everything we do at the NFB is a public act, and it is this commitment to engaging with audiences in Canada and abroad that is unwavering. As we move forward with the launch of a new Strategic Plan, I see nothing but tremendous opportunities in creating and distributing media that: profoundly impacts issues of social justice, influences that nexus of innovation, auteur voice and artistic excellence, and embraces the breathtaking pace of the digital revolution that will take us to new levels of social interaction. I am passionate about the NFB and it will be a great privilege, in my new role, to strive for creative ambitions that will be transformative."