Mission

Telefilm Canada
Developing and promoting the Canadian audiovisual industry

Telefilm Canada is a Crown corporation reporting to Parliament through the Department of Canadian Heritage. Headquartered in Montréal, Telefilm provides services to the Canadian audiovisual industry by means of four regional offices located in Vancouver, Toronto, Montréal and Halifax.

Our mandate
Telefilm Canada is a federal cultural agency dedicated to the development and promotion of the Canadian audiovisual industry.

The Corporation acts as one of the Canadian government's principal instruments for providing strategic leverage to the private sector, supplying the film, television and new media industries with financial and strategic support. Telefilm's role is to foster the production of films, television programs and cultural products that reflect Canadian society, with its linguistic duality and cultural diversity, and to encourage their dissemination at home and abroad.

Our vision
By funding high-quality productions and strengthening its industry support to facilitate the transition to the new multiplatform environment, Telefilm Canada is aiming for the long-term viability and development of Canada's audiovisual industry. Telefilm believes that the main measure of its success lies in the Canadian public's appetite for the works and products it funds. A second measure concerns the capacity to have a vigorous, dynamic industry able to successfully develop, produce, and market the funded works.

Our values
As a public sector agency and a partner to the industry, Telefilm upholds six core values:

* Celebrate the telling of unique Canadian stories;
* Actively champion a sustainable Canadian audiovisual culture;
* Reward performance and encourage new thinking;
* Promote diversity in all its forms in programs and policies;
* Be open, transparent and accessible to stakeholders, the industry and the public; and,
* Deliver best value to Parliament and to the Canadian public.

Telefilm Canada's strategic directions

In its new corporate plan titled From cinemas to cell phones: Telefilm Canada responds to the multiplatform challenge, the Corporation offers the Canadian industry and its partners a solid vision of the future that reiterates the vital importance of Canadian content and the need to take full advantage of digital platforms in order to reach wider audiences.




Board Members


Felix (Fil) Fraser
Interim Chair
Edmonton, Alberta

Currently an adjunct Professor of Communications Studies at Athabasca University, Fil Fraser was previously President and Chief Executive Officer of Vision TV. He founded the Banff Television Festival, was the Chief Commissioner of the Alberta Human Rights Commission, and managed his own audiovisual production company for 10 years. Known for his commitment to human rights, multiculturalism and diversity, he has published many texts on these topics.



Suzanne Sheaves
Member
Halifax, Nova Scotia

Suzanne Sheaves has a solid track record in the business and investment sector. She is currently First Vice-President and Investment Advisor of CIBC Wood Gundy and conducts business there through the Suzanne Sheaves Group.



Elise Orenstein
Member
Toronto, Ontario

Elise Orenstein is a Toronto lawyer. Elise obtained a B.A. (Honours) from McGill University, a M. Phil. from Oxford University and a LL.B from Osgoode Hall Law School. She was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1983 and has been a senior partner in two major Toronto law firms. Elise has practiced in the area of corporate and commercial law with special emphasis on intellectual property law. She has represented public and private corporations as well as clients in a broad range of industries, particularly convergent media, the knowledge based and the entertainment sectors. Ms. Orenstein has served on the board of several privately held companies. As a volunteer, she has served on the Boards of various arts organizations and as Chair of the Artists' Health Centre Foundation. In addition to her independent legal practice, she currently sits on the Advisory Boards of the Artists' Health Centre Foundation (AHCF) and the Dancer Transition Resource Centre.



Tom Perlmutter
Ex-officio member
Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chair
Montreal, Quebec

Throughout his career as a filmmaker, writer and producer, Tom Perlmutter has been a fervent advocate of groundbreaking and socially engaged independent cinema. Before joining the NFB in 2001 as Director General, English Program, Mr. Perlmutter enjoyed a prestigious career in the Canadian film industry as the founding head of documentaries at Barna-Alper Productions, and partner in Primitive Entertainment. Mr. Perlmutter previously partnered with one of Canada's most noted documentarists, John Walker, on several award-winning documentaries. Prior to this, he was director of creative development for CineNova Productions and executive director of Alliance for Children and Television from 1993 to 1995. He has also worked as a writer and reporter, with a number of articles and publications to his credit.




Senior Management


S. Wayne Clarkson
Executive Director

Elizabeth Friesen
Chief Operating Officer

Carolle Brabant
Chief Administrative Officer

Danny Chalifour
Director - Industry Development Operations

Michel Pradier
Director - French Operations and Quebec Office


Dave Forget
Director - Television Business Unit

Jean-Claude Mahé
Director - Public and Governmental Affairs

Stella Riggi
Director - Human Resources

Stéphane Odesse
Director - Legal Services and Access to Information Coordinator



Corporate Secretary

Maria DeRosa
Director - Corporate Affairs and Communications



Regional Directors

Atlantic Region Office
Gordon Whittaker
Director - Atlantic Region

Quebec Office
Michel Pradier
Director - French Operations and Quebec Office

Ontario and Nunavut Regions Office
Ralph Holt
Director - Ontario and Nunavut Regions

Western Region Office
Earl Hong Tai
Director - Western Region