Toronto Irish Film Festival

STAFF & BOARD

The TIRFF team brings a broad range of experience in film industry leadership, film distribution, content programming & creation, fundraising, event management and online marketing.

Michael Barry

Michael Barry is a media consultant who has worked at Rogers, Bell and TELUS and now provides expertise to various arts and culture organizations focusing on content creation, database management, communications, social media and overall business initiatives. Clients include Toronto Irish Film Festival, the City of Toronto, North York Arts at Toronto Arts Foundation, HOT DOCS, Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, LG “Life’s Good” Film Festival and ReelWorld Film Festival. As a musician, Michael has scored many film projects including writing and recording “My Irish Heart” for Toronto filmmaker Eleanor McGrath’s “Kanata: An Irish Story“. Michael was born and raised in Belfast and moved to Toronto in 1992.

John Galway

John Galway is currently President of The Harold Greenberg Fund (HGF), the film funding division of Astral Media. Prior to HGF, John has worked at the Ontario Film Investment Program, the Canadian Television Fund, Telefilm Canada and The Toronto International Film Festival. The son of a Belfast man, John’s passion for TIRFF is driven by his desire to connect with his Irish heritage.

Lila Karim

Lila Karim has over 15 years experience in arts administration and event management in the arts and culture sector. Lila is currently the Managing Director of North York Arts. She has previously worked for the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, ReelWorld Film Festival and Astral’s The Harold Greenberg Fund. Of Guyanese heritage, Lila is extremely proud of Guyana’s major role in worldwide Guinness production.

Barbara Deignan

Barbara Deignan works in television development – she moved to Toronto from Dublin in January 2011. Her past experience includes working for the award winning Screen Scene Post Productions as website editor and commercials producer. TIRFF is delighted to have Barbara on the team and is committed to supporting the newly-arrived Irish community members in Toronto. In 2012, Barbara programmed the Irish Shorts Program and, along with Cian McDevitt, co-directed Diaspora which premiered at the festival.

Board of Directors

The TIRFF Board brings together ex-pats with a broad range of experience from a variety of industry sectors. We are delighted to have their professional expertise and guidance supporting the on-going development of the festival.