Chaim Kantor has been named interim National Executive Director of the International Cinematographers Guild (IATSE Local 600), it was announced Thursday by Baird B. Steptoe, the National President of the ICG.
Kantor succeeds Rebecca Rhine, who stepped down in September and promptly took a position at the DGA. Kantor’s appointment was unanimously confirmed by the guild’s National Executive Board and he now has “the authority to exercise direct supervision over the staff and operation of the guild on a national basis,” according to Deadline, which broke the news.
Kantor has served as the guild’s Eastern Region Director since January 2003 and was also the guild’s Associate National Executive Director. He also served as the Secretary and Treasurer of Camera Local 644 in New York and as a union trustee of the Local 644 Pension, Welfare, and Annuity Funds. Additionally, Kantor serves as the Local 600 IATSE co-chair of the East Coast Council of IATSE New York Production Locals.
Kantor has been a union member since 1980, racking up credits as a camera assistant, camera operator, and director of photography on many TV shows and commercials, as well as major feature films such as Independence Day, Witness, and Arlington Road.
It sounds like the ICG is in good hands with Kantor working closely alongside Steptoe. Next year, the ICG will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the ICG Publicists Awards Luncheon, which will take on Friday, March 10, 2023.
