Matthew Fisher, 66, on April 10. The son of federal politician and print and broadcast journalist Douglas Fisher, Matthew developed an interest in travel and war correspondence early, parlaying that into a 45-year career that would see him visit 174 countries and cover more than 20 wars and civil conflicts, including Somalia, the Rwandan genocide, Chechnya, the Balkan Wars, Israel in Gaza and Lebanon, the two Gulf Wars and Afghanistan. He got his start in journalism at age 16 when he won a Montreal Expos Junior Broadcaster contest. He went on to work as a high school sports reporter for CBO Radio in Ottawa, and then joined CJOH-TV. After travelling the world reporting on Canadian amateur athletes and co-writing a book, he went on to work for newspapers including The Globe and Mail, National Post, Canwest News Service, and Sun Media. Among the historic events he had a front row seat to were Nelson Mandela’s election, the death of Princess Diana, the Hong Kong handover to China, and the fall of Eastern European Communism. More recently, Fisher had joined independent international relations think tank, the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
David Miller, 47, on April 6. After studying Communications at Simon Fraser University, Miller’s first introduction to the film industry was at the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television where he landed a public relations role. He went on to work for the National Film Board where he led an Oscar-winning PR campaign for the animated short “Ryan” in 2004, based on the life of Canadian animator Ryan Larkin. Miller then took a turn into programming as Director of Creative and Business Development at Channel Zero. In 2010, he became a partner in A71 Entertainment. His executive producer credits included The Child Remains, Becoming Burlesque, and Sadie’s Last Days on Earth, among many other films. Miller was also an active member of the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA).
