Mandate & Mission

Mandate:

To establish a cultural arena in Canada and around the world through our annual festival and year round programs showcasing and promoting the creation of outstanding and compelling films, video and new media works in all genres, focusing on environmental themes and subjects by Canadian and International artists and filmmakers.

Our Mission:

To promote the creation and use of film, video and new media as catalysts for public awareness, discussion, and appropriate action on the ecological and social health of the planet.

To include diverse perspectives (e.g., multi-cultural, international, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, racial, spiritual, and economic status).

To promote social and ecologically sustainable practices in media production, all festival and year round operations, and forge relationships with organizations and individuals who have similar goals.

Our Goals:

To encourage the creation and exhibition of a broad spectrum of films and videos exploring environmental and ecological themes that celebrate, question and establish varied ways of viewing the state of our world.

To present to the public including children and youth audiences nationally and globally, creative, educational, provocative, and entertaining films and videos on social and ecological themes.

To establish a vibrant international marketplace for ecological films and videos.

To create an annual meeting place for, film and video makers, distributors, broadcasters, manufacturers, entrepreneurs and environmentalists to network and initiate new projects.

To encourage the use of sustainable and ecological processes in the production, distribution and screening of films and videos.

Values:

• Respect for all humans and non-human nature
• Cooperation and collaboration
• Creative community building
• Openness and dialogue
• Commitment to not-for-profit operation
• Long-term and consistent support of environmental filmmaking
• Sustainability
• Financial accountability

History

Planet in Focus is an incorporated not-for-profit organization founded in 1999 by Festival Director Mark Haslam. The organization's activities originally centred around an annual festival yet over the past ten years PIF has developed into a year round cultural institution devoted to environmental artistic expression, its creation, exhibition, dissemination as well as providing educational programming through environmental media, film and video.

Currently we are celebrating our 10th year of operations. Since 2005, Planet in Focus has been led by Artistic Director & CEO Candida Paltiel. She has overseen the expansion of the organizations year round operations on the national and international level.

In 2008 Planet in Focus was awarded the Green Toronto Award for its outstanding achievements in promoting environmental awareness and in 2007 it was nominated for the Green Toronto Awards for outstanding leadership.

Planet in Focus has also overseen the establishment of Green Screen Toronto, a major industry association seeking to foster green  production standards in Toronto  and across the Province of Ontario.

We are affiliated with the Planet in Focus Foundation, a registered charitable organization currently Chaired by Dr. Fergal Nolan.

Planet in Focus is currently run by a volunteer Board of Directors Chaired by Sujata Berry.

Our Honorary Patron is the renowned scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster, Dr. David Suzuki.