Veteran producer Don Carmody, dubbed the "Don of Hollywood North" for his role in drawing American studio productions to Canada, is stepping back from film sets at the age of 75, with a farewell celebration planned at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival. Over a 50-year career spanning more than 130 film credits, Carmody helped bring over $2 billion worth of US productions north of the border, effectively pioneering the runaway-production trend that made Canada a major hub for Hollywood filmmaking from the 1980s onwards.

Carmody's approach combined strong production values on modest budgets, favourable exchange rates, tax incentives and access to skilled local crews and ACTRA-affiliated actors, convincing studios that Canadian-shot films need not look cheap. His credits include collaborations with directors such as David Cronenberg, Ivan Reitman and the late Sidney Lumet, as well as Miramax's 1998 film The Mighty. To mark his legacy, TIFF is hosting a keynote from Carmody, screening a career documentary, and launching two new industry initiatives in his name: the $100,000 CMPA Don Carmody International Production Mentorship Program and the $100,000 CFC Don Carmody Producer Residency at the Canadian Film Centre.