Gavin Heffernan (born April 2, 1980 in Oakville, Ontario) is a Canadian independent filmmaker.

He wrote, directed, and acted in two feature films, The Steaks (2000) and Expiration (2004), both filmed primarily in Montreal, Quebec. Expiration was a popular draw on the film festival circuit, and was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the Canadian Filmmakers' Festival in 2004.

Heffernan is an alumnus of McGill University and the AFI Conservatory, and a voting member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television

His AFI Thesis Film Santa Croce blank">http://www.santacrocefilm.com/ was co-financed by Executive Producers _Michael Huffington and Steve Bing and distributed Worldwide on December 16, 2007 through Itunes and Shorts International .

In 2007, Heffernan co-founded The Film Summit blank">http://www.thefilmsummit.com/,an event dedicated to preserving film relations between Hollywood and Canada, featuring works from _Canadian Film Centre and the American Film Institute.

His experimental film about the Peace Movement in the USA titled Grand Wheel is slated to premiere at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival Production Company Sunchaser Pictures based in Hollywood, CA.

Born an only child on the outskirts of Toronto, Canada, Heffernan's first break came with a chance high school job-shadowing assignment on the set of New Line Cinema's Detroit Rock City (1999). The one-day project would blossom into a production job, an appearance in the film and a friendship with the film's creative heads. Adam Rifkin later called on Heffernan to shoot the documentary for his next project, Night at the Golden Eagle (2002). Filmed in a functioning Los Angeles crack hotel, the grueling shoot tested Heffernan's lack of experience, while bringing him face to face with a bevy of colorful urban characters that would not be forgotten. Returning to Undergraduate studies at McGill University in Montreal, Heffernan began shooting his own feature, a zero-budget "urban fairytale" titled Expiration (2003). With the aid of college friends, talented amateurs and a Sony DV Camera, Heffernan worked through weekends, nights and holidays to survive the 20 month shoot without getting expelled. Against long odds, the completed film made a splash on the Independent Film scene, with rave reviews from Variety, EFilmcritic and Ain't It Cool News. After winning the Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature Film at the 2004 Canadian Filmmakers' Festival in Toronto, Expiration (2003) was later named "the first major work of the Student Digital New Wave" by The Film Journal. After graduating from McGill University in 2004, Heffernan accepted an invitation to continue his studies with The American Film Institute in Los Angeles. While being immersed with passionate peers and industry professionals, Heffernan's two years at AFI showed the rigors, routines and restrictions of the studio system while providing Heffernan the opportunity to create his 35mm thesis project, _Santa Croce (2006)_. Heffernan is slated to graduate from AFI in December 2006 Plans for his next feature, reportedly titled "Departure" are underway.