Sheila de la Varende appointed Director of National and International Business Development at Telefilm Canada
Montréal, April 7, 2009 – Telefilm Canada is proud to announce the appointment of Sheila de la Varende to the position of Director, National and International Business Development. Ms. de la Varende will take up her duties on April 20, 2009.
“Sheila de la Varende will be a valuable asset, for the Telefilm Canada team as well as for Canada’s audiovisual industry,” said Wayne Clarkson, Telefilm’s Executive Director. “She has a sterling reputation, both here and abroad, and we know how much of a professional she is, given that she has already held key management positions at Telefilm. Over the last few years, furthermore, she has acquired sound knowledge and understanding of the digital media sector and the challenges of a multiplatform environment. She will help Telefilm develop and implement national and international strategic plans to improve the Canadian industry’s capacity and build audiences for Canadian products.”
A career in the public and private sectors
Over the course of her career, Sheila de la Varende has successively been Manager, Cultural Industries at Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada; Director of Telefilm’s European office as well as Director of the Corporation’s International Promotion and Development division; Executive Director of the Festival du nouveau cinéma de Montréal; and Executive Director of Digimart, an organization involved in the promotion of a market for digital cinema.
More recently, Sheila de la Varende was Project Manager, Digital Strategy and Deployment at the National Film Board of Canada. As a consultant, she has also taken a close interest in international co-production by contributing to the development of multisectorial business strategies.
“I look forward to joining Telefilm Canada and to leading the National and International Business Development team,” she stated. “I am very excited about contributing to the organization’s strategic goals and to helping shape the future of the Canadian audiovisual sector.”
Danny Chalifour held the position of Director, National and International Business Development on an interim basis following the implementation of Telefilm’s new Operations structure in October 2008. Mr. Chalifour will be retiring from Telefilm in June 2009.
Developing and promoting the Canadian audiovisual industry
Telefilm Canada is a federal cultural agency dedicated to developing and promoting the Canadian audiovisual industry. Telefilm provides financial support to the private sector to create distinctively Canadian productions that appeal to domestic and international audiences. The Corporation also administers the funding programs of the Canadian Feature Film Fund, the Canadian Television Fund and the Canada New Media Fund.
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Media enquiries:
Alejandra Sosa
Communications Officer & Press Attaché
416-973-6436 # 2505 or 1-800-463-4607
sosaa@telefilm.ca
Renseignements pour les médias :
Mélanie Larente, Communications Officer & Press Attaché
514-283-0838 # 2014 ou 1-800-567-0890
larentm@telefilm.ca