22 Facts About Rudy Buttignol

Rudy Buttignol was born on June 18,1951 and is a Canadian television network executive and entrepreneur.

Rudy Buttignol was president of Canadian subscription television channel BBC Kids from 2011 until it ceased operations in 2018.

In 2022, following a highly publicized diversity audit of the Knowledge Network, Rudy Buttignol was dismissed from his position as president and CEO.

Rudy Buttignol was born in 1951 in Pordenone, Italy to Nelda and Marino Buttignol.

In Toronto, they were reunited with Marino Rudy Buttignol, who had immigrated in 1954 to work for Canadian National Railway laying rail in northern Alberta.

Rudy Buttignol has been called "Canadian broadcasting and documentary guru" and "friend of the auteur in Canada and abroad".

Rudy Buttignol is acknowledged for his roles developing Canadian cultural policy related to documentary film funding and broadcasting and advancing the creative documentary genre in Canada and on the world stage.

Rudy Buttignol originated the idea behind the 2014 television series Emergency Room: Life + Death at VGH.

Rudy Buttignol stressed the distinction between the genre of the series, which is a documentary, and that of reality-based entertainment.

From 1975 to 1993, Rudy Buttignol worked as an independent filmmaker creating film and video works.

In 1993, Rudy Buttignol began work as a public broadcaster when he joined TVOntario as commissioning editor and creative head of independent production.

In 2007, Rudy Buttignol was awarded the inaugural Hot Docs' Doc Mogul Award.

All together, Rudy Buttignol was the recipient of nine Gemini Awards, from the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

In 2007, Rudy Buttignol was appointed as president and CEO of British Columbia's Knowledge Network.

Rudy Buttignol's mandate includes outreach through events throughout British Columbia.

Rudy Buttignol is current Chair of the International Advisory Council of the Hot Docs Documentary Forum, Vice-Chair of the Canadian Association of Public Educational Media; and a Director on the Boards of the Vancouver International Film Festival, and the Cultural Properties Export Review Board which is a Canadian federal government tribunal.

Rudy Buttignol is a director on the board of the Britannia Mine Museum, Britannia Beach, British Columbia.

Rudy Buttignol was a member of the European Television and Media Management Academy's Advisory Council in Strasbourg.

In 2013, Rudy Buttignol was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his contributions to British Columbians and Canadians, and for his role in transforming the Knowledge Network, British Columbia's public broadcaster.

On December 30,2015, it was announced that Rudy Buttignol was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada for his contributions as a champion of Canadian documentary filmmaking and for his transformative leadership at the Knowledge Network.

Rudy Buttignol stated that he had "major reservations" with the audit.

On June 17,2022, the Knowledge Network's Board released a statement that Rudy Buttignol's contract had been terminated and that a national search would begin to find his replacement.