The ESIO is happy to announce that Sheena Rossiter (Dona Ana Films & Multimedia) has been selected as one of our recipients of the Elevation Program. Sheena, along with co-producer and Director Sandro Silva, and their team have been hard at work on their latest film, The Perfect Match. Earlier in 2024, Telus originals greenlit the film as part of its 2024/25 slate.

About the film:

After losing his toddler son to a lengthy battle with a rare cancer, a Ghanaian man living in Edmonton has turned into an advocate for stem cell donation. With just a cheek swab, he goes from event to event, actively trying to get young Black Canadians to sign up for the stem cell database in hopes of saving more lives. But, at times, his efforts are met with resistance due to the deep mistrust in the medical system by Black communities.

About Sheena:

Sheena Rossiter is the co-founder of Dona Ana Films & Multimedia. She was based in Brazil for nearly seven years, and she produced multiple audiovisual projects related to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the 2015 Copa America, the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, and other large events. Her producer credits include: the HBO-broadcast documentary “Brazil: Trans Awakening” (2016), “Beyond the Map with Google” (2016), and the Netflix docuseries “Rotten”, episode 4 “Big Bird” (2018), among others. Her directorial debut, “3 Siblings” (2018), screened at over 30 film festivals, in more than a dozen countries, won five awards, and was broadcast on RTP 3 in Portugal and EastLink TV in Canada. She’s directed two Telus Originals: “Eye of the Storm” (2019) and “Marilyn in Jasper” (2019). She co-produced and directed the NFB-funded experimental short “1000 Brazils of Truth” (2021). Sheena produced the Telus STORYHIVE documentary short “Retraining the Brain” (2023). She was the editor and post-production supervisor on the documentary feature Pride Vs. Prejudice: The Delwin Vriend Story (2024). She was selected for the 2018 RIFF Talent Lab, she is a 2019 Telus STORYHIVE Banff Fellowship recipient, and she is part of Cohort 2 in Banff Spark, a program for women in the business of media. Sheena is the producer, story editor, and editor for The Perfect Match.

Congrats to Sheena! We can’t wait to see the film!