It's been a little over a year since Wayne Clarkson took over the reins as executive director of Telefilm Canada, and it's been a hectic introduction for the former head of the Canadian Film Centre, the OFDC, and the Toronto film festival.

He began his tenure by crisscrossing the country with both ears bent towards the production community, but the melding of Telefilm and the Canadian Television Fund has taken up most of his time over the past six months. And while he's had to respond to Auditor General Sheila Fraser's calls for greater transparency and accountability for the funding agency, Clarkson has also inherited the fallout from the failed New Montreal FilmFest.

Clarkson recently spoke to Playback about his plans for the remaining four years of his term, which includes trying to find a fix for English-Canadian feature film, which claimed a lowly 1.1% market share last year. As part of that solution, Telefilm is looking to hire a dedicated feature film executive and has shuttered its Paris office to redirect resources to boost international sales and coproduction.

Oh, and he's got a mantra: No New Money.

Did your first year at Telefilm unfold as you'd expected?

Well, the pace of the job was more than I had anticipated. I was looking back over the last year and noticed that I hadn't been anywhere longer than three nights. Mostly it's been crisscrossing the country. One of my goals in the first year was to get in touch - not only with our regional offices in Vancouver and Halifax, but also to have an opportunity to sit down with the industry across the country.

What's been the biggest challenge so far?

One of the big challenges - and one that I'm proud to say Telefilm worked out very well - was the new relationship with the Canadian Television Fund. That was a major undertaking of considerable delicacy and consequence. What I like about it is that it's good for Telefilm and it's good for the CTF. And that ultimately makes it good for the industry.

What's at the top of your 'To Do' list now?

The premise that it's our estimation that there's not going to be any new money for film and new media in fiscal '06/07. Everything is strategically based on that premise.

You've talked of creating a new feature film executive position at Telefilm.

I've been talking about restructuring the selection process in English Canada - from what has by and large been a committee decision - to one in which an individual will rely on the resources and expertise of the regional offices of Telefilm Canada, English language. This individual will be more proactive, transparent, accountable and accessible. But he or she will have the responsibility for making the ultimate decisions.

We're in the process of finding that individual, and anticipate we'll able to announce something by mid-April, to have them start before [the Cannes Film Festival.]

You started regular meetings with the industry on specific topics. Has that been beneficial?