After allegations were made on social media against a former Vancouver film festival programmer, the film festival organization has released a response.

The Vancouver International Film Festival issued a public statement on social media on December 20 to address concerns from the filmmaking community that it had not yet publicly responded to allegations that had been made regarding a former festival programmer.

VIFF stated that it had come to their attention one week prior that “a number of serious allegations had surfaced in social media regarding the private actions of a former programmer for the festival”.

VIFF said that since that time, it had been “working hard to create a response that helps ensure that VIFF continues to champion inclusive environments free of harassment or discrimination”.

Although many have asked VIFF to disclose the details of its investigation and processes, the organization explained that it cannot do so due to privacy laws.

Among the actions it will take, VIFF outlined three measures it will be undertaking in the immediate future.

It will promote increased awareness of its code of conduct, policies, and procedures and making them accessible by attending filmmakers and groups.

Secondly, consultants and advisors will be providing guidance on strengthening their practices.

Thirdly, they will be working with film community members to improve festival safety standards.

VIFF did not identify the programmer, did not specify the allegations, and said that the programmer no longer works with VIFF.

However, it did state that it will be “retiring” the Future//Present film series, which features Canadian filmmakers “with originality and vision who challenge and ennoble the medium“. Nonetheless, VIFF reassured that its “commitment to Canadian cinema remains as strong as ever”.

https://twitter.com/VIFFest/status/1208087766266871809

The founder and programmer of that series for its four-year run was Adam Cook.

On the same day as the VIFF statement (December 20), the Sheffield/Doc Fest announced that Cook had stepped down the day before from his role as senior programmer at the U.K.–based documentary festival.

He had been previously reported on November 21 as beginning in that position, which was one month before his resignation. The festival did not state the reason for his departure.

https://twitter.com/sheffdocfest/status/1208071773092274178

Prior to VIFF, Cook had been a programming associate for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), a programming consultant for Toronto’s Hot Docs documentary festival, and a Canadian film programmer for the Victoria Film Festival.

TIFF also posted a statement to acknowledge its awareness of the social-media conversations transpiring about safe and ethical environments for filmmakers and provided a link to its code of conduct.

https://twitter.com/TIFF_NET/status/1208081374009331714

Meanwhile in other changes at VIFF, executive director Jacqueline Dupuis had previously announced in July that she would be leaving her position after the 2019 film festival concluded on October 11.