Evan Shapiro to Keynote The Hollywood Reporter’s Access Canada Summit

Evan Shapiro, known as the cartographer of the media universe, will be a keynote speaker at The Hollywood Reporter’s inaugural Access Canada Summit, set to run during the upcoming Toronto Film Festival.

Shapiro, a former top executive at NBCUniversal and Participant Media is expected to bring his trademark provocative mix of graphics, charts and analysis to the Access Canada Summit to reflect on the current, and future, state of the media industry.

Shapiro is also a veteran producer (Portlandia, Brick City) and a former president of IFC TV and Sundance Channel. The inaugural three-day Access Canada Summit event in Toronto, set to run Sept. 8-10 during TIFF’s 2025 edition, will spotlight Canadian content producers navigating a global entertainment industry.

Besides his keynote presentation, Shapiro will also host a small group of Access Canada Summit attendees at a private breakfast where winners of an upcoming draw can pose questions and discuss specific forecasts and opportunities in the unfolding global media space with the in-demand industry analyst and speaker.

The Access Canada Summit event, to be held at the Omni King Edward Hotel, will include keynote speakers and panels and dealmaking between top creatives and decision-makers across the country, and have THR as its title media partner.

The event will be produced by Access Canada, the producer of The Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment Canada event, which just concluded its second star-studded conference and awards show on May 29 in Toronto.

More programming announcements the inaugural Summit, including keynote speakers, panels and workshops, curated meetings and networking opportunities, will be announced in the coming weeks.