who is she?
Tara Sheffer is an award-winning filmmaker from Arkansas with an MFA in filmmaking from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She has produced over twenty-five short films including A LIEN (shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film), TRAPPED (SXSW Official Selection and Jury Award Winner), FLOUNDER (Clermont Ferrand Official Selection and Vimeo Staff Pick), PLAISIR (SXSW Official Selection and Searchlight Short), and she line-produced THE LETTER ROOM (nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film). Tara’s directorial work includes MY DEAR GOD (New Orleans Film Festival Official Selection and winner of the Sara Driver Award) and SCRATCH-OFF (winner of the Marlyn Mason Grand Prize at the Rhode Island International Filckers Film Festival and winner of the NYU Tisch King Screenwriting Award). Her previous positions include coordinator at the Department of Motion Pictures and assistant to Scott Rudin. Tara is a 2024 The Gotham/Rotterdam Producing fellow, a 2024 Sundance Producing fellow, a 2024 Film Independent Fast Track fellow, and the 2021 recipient of the Robert Oberman/Gregory Pickert Media Services award for excellence in creative producing at NYU.
Labs and Artist Residencies
2024 Sundance Producing Fellow
2024 Film Independent Fast Track Fellow
2024 The Gotham/Rotterdam Producing Fellow
2024 Artist in Residence at the University of Central Arkansas
2021 Women at Sundance Strategy Intensive in NYC
Awards and Nominations
Shortlisted for Academy Award for Best Live Action Short film for A LIEN
Winner: 2024 Rhode Island International Film Festival “Flickers” Marlyn Mason Grand Prize for SCRATCH-OFF
Winner: 2024 NYU King Award for Screenwriting for SCRATCH-OFF
Finalist: 2024 NYU King Award for SCRATCH-OFF
Winner: 2024 First Run Film Festival Craft Awards for SCRATCH-OFF: Sound Design, Original Score, Acting: Robin Mullins
Winner: 2023 NYU Riese Post Production Award for SCRATCH-OFF
Winner: 2021 Robert Oberman/Gregory Pickert Production Media Services Award for excellence in creative producing
Winner: 2022 First Run Film Festival Craft Award for Producing: PLAISIR and THREADS OF DESIRE
Winner: 2019 Sarah Driver Film Production Award at NYU Graduate Film
Nominated: 2014 Best Director at the Little Rock Film Festival for 13 PIECES OF THE UNIVERSE
Winner: 2015 Best Film and Gold Award at the Eureka Springs Film Festival for 13 PIECES OF THE UNIVERSE
Winner: 2015 Best Short at the Offshoot Film Festival for 13 PIECES OF THE UNIVERSE
Winner: Accelerated Reader Award 8 months in a row in 8th grade at Pulaski Heights Middle School in Little Rock, Arkansas