MUMBAI: Michelle Carey, head of programming of the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) has been promoted as its artistic director.

Since the last four years Carey has been working with MIFF executive director Richard Moore as co-coordinator of the accelerator programme and also as head of programming at Australia’s largest film festival.

Earlier this year, Moore announced that he was stepping down from his position at MIFF, after the Board of the festival said that it would split the role into two. It later appointed Petrina Dorrington as general manager at the beginning of this year‘s festival late July and also announced Carey’s appointment.

Dorrington said, “We are thrilled to appoint Michelle as the artistic director – she has extensive experience in film programming, and has been a member of the MIFF programming team for the last four years. She understands both the festival’s diverse audiences and the ethos of the festival as a whole.”

Besides her role in the MIFF, Carey is currently the president of the long-running Melbourne Cinémath?que and editor for film festivals at online film journal Senses of Cinema.

Moore will now relocate to Brisbane this month where he will join Screen Queensland as the organization’s new head of screen culture.

In Moore’s four-year tenure MIFF’s Premiere Film Fund, supported by the Victorian government was introduced and its 37° south market and accelerator programme were expanded for emerging filmmakers.