Andra Sheffer

Andra Sheffer is the Executive Director of three private Funds supporting the Canadian new media, television and film industries: the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund which invests in Canadian television programs and their associated interactive digital projects; the Independent Production Fund which invests in drama series created for digital platforms; and, the COGECO Program Development Fund for the development and production of television drama. She was the founding Executive Director of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television producing the annual Genie and Gemini Awards. She lectures on the business of television and new media and is the editor of publications about the business of tv and digital media production: New Media, New Business: The Producer’s guide (2001), Create a Winning Proposal – the Handbook for New Media Prodders (1999) and the co-editor of MAKING IT: The business of film and Television Production in Canada (1986 & 1995). Previously she served as the Managing Director of the Toronto International Film Festival, and with the federal government as a Certification Officer setting up the original CAVCO office (and Canadian content “point” system), and at the Film Festivals Bureau promoting Canadian films internationally.