Curtains close on executive director’s time at FIN

Wayne Carter has been around to see the evolution of film through so many decades, and the credits are finally rolling on his time as executive director at FIN.

Now, he’s prepared to see another evolution, even if he isn’t quite sure what it is yet. FIN announced Carter’s parting of ways with the juggernaut Halifax film festival, effective March 31, 2022.

But for Carter, it’s not the end – He’s just ready for a new beginning.

“I’m someone who’s always interested in new ideas. In the past few years, so much has changed for the film audiences. Our role as a film festival has been to prepare for the new normal,” he said of the COVID-19 pandemic, audience viewing habits and the adoption of companion medium FIN STREAM.

“Usually I only stay somewhere three-to-five years, but I love challenges. This has been a place where I can grow.”

As for timing, Carter sees this as a great place to book-end his experiences with FIN.

“We’ve gotten through the pandemic and doing festivals during it. The full team is still in place and we aren’t in debt,” he said. “It’s set to continue in good fashion, so now is a great time to bow out.”

While he and the board have known he’s leaving FIN since November, he says it’s not a job he could just walk away from.

“Even last spring, I was wondering how many festivals I had left in me. It’s a big change for the team. So I want my replacement to have time to pick my brain, and for us to have overlap time,” he said.

“It’s nerve-racking for sure. Rarely do I leave without having something to go to. But I am looking forward to some major changes.”

Most of all, he’s looking forward to recouping and getting a summer, something that’s impossible when you’re planning a major annual September film festival.

“I’m just going to wait for the right thing and do something I want to be doing. I’m going to go to Mexico for a few weeks. It’s a Christmas trip I couldn’t take due to COVID-19,” he said.

“I tell people when they start at FIN that it’s a summer killer. If you have a cottage or boat, it’s not the place to work. I’m looking forward to my first summer in 10 years. I am embracing change.”

Carter held a number of positions and travelled all of Canada for work. The Miramichi native came to Nova Scotia following more than a decade in Toronto.

“I loved the city and the ocean. I came here without a job and stepped into the unknown,” he said. He worked in business development for Radian6, a Salesforce.com company before finding the positing for the festival, then known as the Atlantic International Film Festival.

“I’ve been in film and entertainment for most of my career. When I was 16 and in high school, I was running a movie theatre. It’s my passion,” he said.

Carter spent time working in home entertainment distribution with Rogers Video, Video One Canada Ltd., East Texas Distributing, and found a job working in media and advertising at Famous Players, which would become Empire Theatres in the mid-2000s. Now, it’s known as Cineplex.

He was also vice president, sales for six years with Warner Home Video before making the leap back to the Maritimes.

“I just love working in music, movies and travel. I’m fortunate I’ve gotten to work doing the things I enjoy my whole life. The film festival checked all my boxes,” he said.

He joined the festival team in April 2012, and has remained the steadfast executive director ever since. Carter has been a part of major changes at FIN and looks back fondly at the accomplishments the team has seen.

“I’m a good change manager. I’ve always been able to evaluate the state of things and determine the changes needed. The festival was having issues with financial sustainability when I came in, so we worked to get that sorted and set the next iteration,” he said.

One thing that sticks out from Carter’s time was the decision to rebrand the Atlantic International Film Festival (AIFF) to FIN in 2017.

“The rebranding was controversial and some weren’t happy. But some people recognized why I did it. It brought all our events under one singular brand, so we could raise awareness to the general public,” he said.

“We’re more than just the festival. It was important people know about FIN Partners, kids programming, the outdoor summer series, and so much more. Even sponsors didn’t realize we had FIN Kids. It was important to have that one brand.”

He’s going to miss all the staff he leaves behind, themselves tireless workers with a huge passion for film as well.

“I think the world of that team. They’re tremendous and they’re amazing friends. I’ll miss interacting with our partners and audience. I love being at Cineplex, talking film and doing the festival,” he said.

“Now I’ll be there as an audience member. It’s scary to walk into the unknown, but that’s what makes life exciting.”

Long a tastemaker in local, Canadian, international cinema and Oscar fare, the biggest film festival east of Montreal has always brought the most invigorating content to moviegoers.

“One of the biggest things I did was make the decision never to open again with a non-Canadian film. We have since been able to gravitate toward regional Canadian films,” he said.

Among them have been Thom Fitzgerald’s Splinters, Heather Young’s Murmur, Maude Lewis biopic Maudie, and so much more.

“It was amazing having Heather, a young female director, open. Then we had Bretten Hannem last year. He’s an amazing, two-spirit and Indigenous filmmaker who made Wildhood,” he said.

“But I can’t lie, seeing Willem Dafoe and director Robert Eggers here for The Lighthouse made us really feel like we were on the map. The film was made here, so Eggers wasn’t a surprise. But to see Dafoe come, because he had such a good time in Nova Scotia, was an incredible thing.”

Location is everything and Carter’s decision to move opening films to Dalhousie University’s illustrious Rebecca Cohn auditorium also paid off.

“We were able to raise awareness for the festival and have bigger opening events. There are so many young, exciting filmmakers bringing their films to the festival. The reason we exist is to help raise their profile,” he said.

“We always had International fare for hardcore cinephiles, but we mainly wanted to champion the regional content, and show the robust, strong and prolific talent we have right here.”

While their mandate remains to champion local films, Carter knows COVID-19 has changed the way they’ll need to approach their work.

“We’ve entered into a questionable era in terms of the future of film festivals. Arthouse films are being squeezed out a bit, more is going to streaming, and there’s a question of the content we’ll have in two-five-10 years,” he said.

“But with festivals like this, we have a very strong regional identity. I think we’ll stand a great chance moving forward.”

Carter says two Nova Scotian films – Wildhood and Dawn, Her Dad & The Tractor – were the best-selling films of the 2021 festival.

“These films were made by people here. Atlantic Canada supports their own in arts, sports, and everything else. We’ve worked hard to define ourselves as a festival about Atlantic Canadians for Atlantic Canadians, and that is what will keep us in good stead,” he said.

“So many built their identities around Hollywood, but now content they relied on is being made by streamers. Netflix and Apple don’t look at theatrical runs or festivals. They want to be doing what they need to for Oscar contention, but it’s not the same.”

While festivals likely won’t start showing movies like box-office smash Spider-Man: No Way Home, Carter sees some important things happening.

“Local Ashley McKenzie brought Werewolf to FIN not long ago, and now she’s in competition at Berlinale. We punch way above our weight class in content here. We’re in a good place to weather the storm and rebuild,” he said.

“While FIN STREAM will need to continue, it can’t be just that. There needs to be a community aspect. As arts and culture locations strive to just keep their doors open, things will keep changing.”

While Carter will be looking from the outside-in as his successor navigates tumultuous exhibition and distribution waters for the festival in the wake of COVID-19, he’s confident the team will be successful.

In the meantime, he’s looking forward to some much-needed downtime to punctuate the next while.

“I can’t wait for my next new challenge. I’m open to the possibilities, but also can’t wait to relax. My door is open to new experiences,” he said.

“I have a lot to contribute, and I’m confident that when the time is right, something new will come around.”