Back by popular demand, the Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) is proud to announce the return of its popular Screenwriters’ Residency Program (formerly known as the Filmmakers Residency Program), which provides screenplay writers from around the world the chance to tell their stories, with the opportunity for participants to receive invaluable mentoring from industry professionals.
BIFF’s Screenwriters’ Residency Program seeks to nurture new filmmakers and screenwriters by providing them with an unrivaled opportunity to spend a full day with accomplished professionals who make a living working in the industry from Los Angeles and New York.
The esteemed group of Screenwriters’ Residency advisors presiding over this year’s program and evaluating candidates includes Vince Gerardis (producer of HBO’s “Games Of Thrones”), Dan Guando (executive vice president, acquisitions, production and development at The Weinstein Company), Taylor Benzie (literary manager at Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment), Sean Covel (producer of “Napoleon Dynamite”, “Beneath” and “Café”), Matthew Helderman (co-CEO at Buffalo 8 Productions and Bondit) and Cameron Cubbison (development executive and co-founder of ScreenCraft).
Emerging filmmakers participating in the program are Amanda Glassman with her film “A Most Dangerous Current”, Andrew Wood with “Human Resources”, John J. Griffin with “Crater”, Karyn Kobayashi with “To Provincetown”, Kendell Courtney Klein’s “Chas Addams” and co-writers Pamela Jaye Smith and Monty Hayes McMillan with “The Cuban Circuit”.
The program will take place in Harbour Island, Eleuthera during BIFF, from December 1 – 4, when screenwriters and advisors will be introduced, followed by one-on-one meetings. Toward the end of the week, participants will come together so that each person can ask questions in a group dynamic. Finally, the advisors will meet with each other and give feedback on each project, which will provide the filmmakers with comments from an impressive cross-section of expertise.
There will be an award presented following the program to the first, second and third place winners.
The 2015 Screenwriters’ Residency Program is presented by Bahamas International Film Festival, Buffalo 8 Productions and ScreenCraft, and is held over the first four days of the festival.
BIFF Founder and Executive Director Leslie Vanderpool said, “This is always an exciting time in the lead-up to the festival, announcing the writers who will join us in our spectacular Bahamas setting for four days of intense and enjoyable career and project development. Our impressive lineup of industry experts mentoring these writers will ensure this is a creatively fertile residency for the participants. We are thankful to Buffalo 8 Productions and ScreenCraft for their support to continue this sought-after and highly regarded program.”
BIFF 2015 begins Tuesday, December 1 in Nassau and runs through Saturday, December 12. Additional announcements pertaining to the festival will be made in the coming weeks. For additional information please visit www.bintlfilmfest.com.
The Bahamas International Film Festival is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing the local Bahamian community and international visitors with a diverse presentation of films from around the world. In addition to offering films that might not otherwise be released theatrically in The Bahamas, BIFF provides a unique cultural experience and set of educational programs and forums for exploring the past, present and future of cinema.
The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) was launched in 2004 with its mission as a non-profit organization dedicated to create a cine-literate arts community, bridging cultures, gaining knowledge and attracting a targeted tourism sector through the film industry.
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