13 Minutes
The 13 minute communication delay between the planets has deadly consequences for Antarctic researchers who may be infected with the same alien bacteria already killing colonists on Mars.

Screenwriter Yvonne Paulin
Award-winning screenwriter, science junkie, and thriller/horror movie enthusiast - lives and writes in Stamford, Connecticut.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Yvonne’s love of film developed while watching THE GHOUL, a late-night television show that blended scary movies with zany antics and sound bites. That was the hook that transformed her Midwestern living room into a fantasy-filled expanse. Determined to stay connected to that world, Yvonne filled journals with stories of tension, apprehension and scares, all with one notable and deliberate twist. She wrote women in lead roles.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Science from Miami of Ohio, Yvonne earned a master’s degree in Environmental Science from the University of Texas at Dallas. She then focused on work and family before diving back into her writing, in the spring of 2015 she earned a Screenwriting Certificate from New York University’s School of Professional Studies. This set her firmly on a writing path, a full-time pursuit.

Yvonne’s scripts, THE TRAIL, COFFIN BELL, and 13 MINUTES all have placed in several prominent screenwriting contests and film festivals. THE TRAIL won Best Action/Thriller at the 2014 New Hope Film Festival, Grand Prize at the 2016 Seattle International Film Fest and is under option by a Los Angeles-based entertainment management company. COFFIN BELL was a Finalist at the 2014 Shriekfest Horror Film Festival Screenwriting Competition and 13 MINUTES was a Finalist at the 2017 Napa Valley Film Festival Screenwriting Competition.

Additionally, Yvonne and her 13 MINUTES were selected among eight women worldwide to participate in the 2018 Athena Film Festival - IRIS LA Women’s Television and Screenwriting Lab.

Today, Yvonne’s writing reflects her passion for science, her love of thriller/horror movies, and her belief that women’s voices wield extraordinary power to expand the collective consciousness and engage audiences in new experiences.

Becoming Terpsichore 

When Suzy's plans to prepare for her 25th Anniversary celebration get hijacked by her daughter's "get-to-know-you" school project, she realizes somewhere along the way from the freaky 80s girl she used to be, she forgot to maintain the connections that matter most. Fortunately, Little 80s Suzy shows up to help try to pave...or bulldoze...Suzy's way back.

Screenwriter Susan Polk
Susan is a NJ-based screenwriter with roots in both the Deep South and the Southwest. Her first Screenplay, a coming of age Christmas story named “Carol,” took top honors at the Awareness Film Festival, Los Angeles and the Southeastern New England (SENE) Film Festival in Newport, RI. It has also placed as an Official Selection, Finalist, Semifinalist, and Quarterfinalist in the Screencraft Fellowship and Family Friendly Screenplay Competitions, and in the Pasadena, Sacramento, Northern Virginia (NOVA) Festivals, among many others. Her second screenplay, “Becoming Terpsichore,” is an 80s influenced day-romp as a woman works to rebuild the connections in her life. It was awarded Best Feature Screenplay at the Los Angeles-based LA Femme Int’l Film Festival and the iHolly Film Festival (where it also won the “Best Characters” category), and made the Top 10 at 8th Place in the Table Read My Screenplay-Chicago competition. “Terpsichore” has also had placings as Official Selection, Finalist, and Semifinalist in the Screencraft Comedy Screenplay Competition, Table Read My Screenplay (London & New Orleans), CineStory Foundation Retreat & Fellowship, Creative World Awards Screenwriting Competition, Catalina Film Festival, FLICKERS: Rhode Island Int’l Film Festival, and NOVA Film Festival, and was selected as a Lab Participant in the Stowe Story Labs Fall Writers Retreat.
Breakwater
As a scorching heat wave grips The Bahamas, DAYA - a local waitress, and IRIS - a seasonal tourist, plot to blackmail Iris' abusive husband. But when their best laid plans go awry out on the high seas, Daya and Iris' whole world begins to capsize.

Screenwriter Tad Daggerhart
Tad grew up on the barrier islands of Charleston, SC. He attended college at Furman University. Before moving to Los Angeles - where he attended USC's MFA Writing for Screen and Television program and received the prestigious Annenberg Fellowship - he worked a variety of jobs, including dishwasher, painter, bartender, English teacher, advertising consultant, and steamroller driver.
Throwing Hammers
Throwing Hammers is a quirky coming of age dramedy about a disgraced former curler that returns to his hometown and attempts to rebuild his life, but is drawn back into his love of the sport by his friends.

Screenwriter Michael Graf
Named “Director of the Year” by Screen Magazine, writer/director MICHAEL GRAF is an Emmy® Award winning commercial filmmaker has directed hundreds of TV commercials for respected national brands. He is also a produced screenwriter.

His last screenplay, The Last Indian War, ( in development) won:

• Best Feature Screenplay in Paris at the Paris Arts & Movie Awards

• Best Feature Screenplay at the Bahamas International Film Festival.

• Best Historical Screenplay at Las Vegas International Screenwriting Competition.

• A finalist for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Science’s prestigious Nicholl Fellowship for Screenwriters.

• A finalist at Table Read My Screenplay, Park City, UT screenwriting competition.

• Winner of the Culture & Heritage Award at Fresh Voices Screenwriting Competition in Los Angeles.

• The screenplay was also an official selection of the Beverly Hills Film Festival, the Madrid Film Festival, the Canadian Film Festival in Vancouver and the Berlin International Film Festival.

• Semi-Finalist at the Edinburgh Film Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland

Graf is also co-author of the produced award-winning screenplay, Winter Of Frozen Dreams, starring David Caradine and Thora Birch, which won top screenwriting honors at both the IFP Market in New York and at Worldfest Houston.

Graf has taught a film class at Marquette University, guest lectures at the University of Wisconsin and previously sat on the Board of Directors of IFP Chicago (the Independent Film Project). Michael is an active and working member of the Director’s Guild of America and the Association of Independent Commercial Producers.

He is also an active and enthusiastic member of the Madison Curling Club.
Screener
Photos of murdered women are popping up in the feed of an Internet content moderator with a dark past. Now, with his sanity in question and the police hot on his tail, he must find the killer... before the killer finds him.

Screenwriter Kerry Dye

Kerry Douglas Dye is a filmmaker and screenwriter who resides in New York City. He primarily works in the horror/thriller genres, but has always wanted to write a musical.

Screenwriters Residency Program

HOPE TOWN, ABACO

December 2 - December 6

TUITION OPPORTUNITY

Attention Screenwriters!

Should your screenplay not be selected as a Finalist and you still want to have the same experience, BIFF is inviting a few select writers to join in on the invaluable mentorship for a $1,500.00 tuition (not including airfare).

You will have one-on-one meetings with prominent industry executives, writers, directors and producers while enjoying the exquisite beauty of HOPE TOWN, ABACO.

For more information please contact leslie@bintlfilmfest.com