Mick Davis: 

Mick Davis has worked in Hollywood for the last 30 years. Before moving to Los Angeles at the advice of his friend Rod Stewart, Davis was the first-team fitness coach for his boyhood idols, Glasgow Celtic Football Club. His writing career started at age 20, when he wrote a thriller novel, Young Kim. Since moving to Hollywood, Davis has developed, written and directed stars such as Pierce Brosnan, Mickey Rourke, Al Pacino, Mel Gibson, Richard Harris, Geena Davis, Tim Allen, Wesley Snipes, Brittany Murphy, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Amanda Plummer, Chris Noth, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sir Ian Holm, Samuel L. Jackson and Andy Garcia. Davis also worked on rewrites for the Academy Award-nominated movie Elizabeth on behalf of director Shekhar Kapur. He also wrote the cult supernatural movie The Invisible. Davis created, wrote and executive-produced the CBS/Warner Bros. TV show Eleventh Hour for Jerry Bruckheimer, starring Rufus Sewell. He was also a producer on the Netflix movie The Saint.

He is now developing the TV miniseries Heathcliff, from Emily Brontë’s novel. He worked with Simon West on the Netflix movie The Saint, based on the classic TV show, and wrote the last scenes Roger Moore would do before his passing. Davis wrote and will direct The Red Lotus, a feature film based on the life of fashion designer Sue Wong, who escaped Communist China to become a worldwide success story. He is committed to writing and directing The Sculptor, a feature film based on the last weeks of Constantin Brâncuși. It will star Mickey Rourke, Helena Bonham Carter, Brian Cox and Andy Garcia, whom Davis directed in the feature film Modigliani. Andy Garcia was quoted as saying, “Mick Davis is my Scorsese.” He wrote and directed the play Paganini, which ran for three years at the Metropolis Theater in Bucharest, Romania. read more

Geoffrey Fletcher is an Academy Award-winning screenwriter who made history as the first African American to win an Oscar in a writing category, earning the 2010 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Precious, based on the novel Push by Sapphire and directed by Lee Daniels. The film also brought him honors from the Independent Spirit Awards, the Black Reel Awards, and the NAACP Image Awards, among others, and went on to earn six Academy Award nominations overall. Fletcher's subsequent credits include Violet & Daisy, which he wrote and directed, and Trial by Fire, starring Laura Dern and Jack O'Connell. Alongside his film work, he has taught screenwriting as an adjunct professor at both NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and Columbia University. In 2009, Precious served as the Closing Night Film of the Bahamas International Film Festival, with Fletcher traveling to Nassau for a screening and audience Q&A. He now returns to BIFF as a mentor for the Screenwriter's Residency Program on Harbour Island. Photo credit: RYAN KRUEGER

Andre Gaines is a two-time Emmy-nominated director, producer, writer and financier, and the founder of the Los Angeles-based production company Cinemation Studios. Born in Toledo, Ohio, he is widely recognized for his inclusive storytelling, his intentional hiring of people of color, and his dedication to highlighting marginalized and overlooked historical and cultural narratives. Gaines made his directorial debut with The One and Only Dick Gregory (2021), a portrait of the comedian and civil rights activist, executive produced by Kevin Hart and Lena Waithe. The film closed the Tribeca Film Festival, premiered on Showtime and earned him his first Emmy nomination. He went on to direct the documentaries After Jackie (2022) and Triumph: Jesse Owens and the Berlin Olympics (2024). His first narrative feature, The Dutchman, which he directed, produced and co-wrote, is a psychological thriller adapted from Amiri Baraka’s landmark play, starring André Holland, Kate Mara, Zazie Beetz, Aldis Hodge and Stephen McKinley Henderson. Shot on a live New York City subway train, the film premiered at SXSW in 2025, was the Opening Night Film of the 2025 Bahamas International Film Festival, and was released in theaters in January 2026. As a producer and financier, Gaines has backed an extensive slate of film and television. He executive produced the HBO documentary series The Lady and the Dale, alongside Mark and Jay Duplass, and The Anarchists. His other credits include Spike Lee’s Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, the Netflix documentary Bill Nye: Science Guy, the remake of Stephen King’s Children of the Corn, and the Amazon animated feature The Immortal Warrior, starring Rodrigo Santoro. A graduate of Northwestern University and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Gaines founded Cinemation Studios in 2010.

George Heller is a manager-producer at Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Brillstein is the oldest and one of the most storied film and TV companies of its kind. Brillstein was founded in 1969 and was a driving force behind the careers of Lorne Michaels, Jim Henson, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, and many other iconic performers, filmmakers, and artists. In 2023, Brillstein was acquired by the sports and music company Wasserman, now THE TEAM. Most recently, Heller was an Executive Producer on “Last Days” directed by Justin Lin, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, and “Role Play” for Amazon Studios starring Kaley Cuoco, David Oyelowo, and Bill Nighy. The latter is based on his own original idea and was released MLK weekend 2024. Previously, he was an Executive Producer on “Mighty Ducks: Gamechangers” for Disney+. The half hour series is based on the film franchise of the same name from the 1990s. He also Executive Produced “Morgan” starring Paul Giamatti, Kate Mara, and Anya Taylor- Joy for 20th Century Fox alongside Ridley Scott and “Haven” starring Orlando Bloom, Zoe Saldana, and Bill Paxton. Upcoming feature projects include “Antarctica” for Searchlight Pictures to be directed by Academy Award winner Danny Boyle. This true story will shoot in the Arctic and Iceland in

Q1 2027. Heller represents a diverse list of writers, filmmakers, and TV creators who work across a wide spectrum of mediums and genres with an emphasis on elevating female and other underrepresented voices. He graduated from the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television with a BFA in Filmic Writing in 2001. 

Neil LaBute
Screenwriters Residency Chairman

BIFF is honored to welcome Neil LaBute celebrated playwright, director, and screenwriter, as Chair of the 2026 Screenwriters Residency Program.

Since his Sundance-winning debut In the Company of Men (1997, starring Aaron Eckhart and Matt Malloy), LaBute has built one of contemporary cinema and theater's most fearless bodies of work. His credits include Your Friends & Neighbors (1998, Ben Stiller, Aaron Eckhart), Possession (2002, Gwyneth Paltrow, Aaron Eckhart), The Shape of Things(2003, Paul Rudd, Rachel Weisz), and the Tony-nominated play reasons to be pretty (2009, Thomas Sadoski, Marin Ireland). His work is headed back to the big screen with an adaptation of his play This Is How It Goes — an upcoming Apple Original Film directed by and starring Idris Elba, alongside Wunmi Mosaku, Charlie Cox, and Elliott Heffernan. This year, LaBute brings that same unflinching eye for character and dialogue to Harbour Island, where he will lead an exciting case study for selected residency screenwriters. Actors Who Have Brought LaBute's Work to Life: Aaron Eckhart, Chris Rock, Danny Glover, Ellen Burstyn, Gwyneth Paltrow, Idris Elba, Kerry Washington, Kevin Hart, Morgan Freeman, Nicolas Cage, Paul Rudd, Peter Dinklage, Rachel Weisz, Renée Zellweger, Samuel L. Jackson, Stanley Tucci, Zoë Saldaña, Matthew Broderick, Alice Eve, Diane Kruger, Kate Bosworth, Justin Long, and Maggie Q. Notably, Danny Glover, Morgan Freeman, Nicolas Cage, and Zoë Saldaña have attended BIFF in years past.

Mahoney started her career entrenched in New York theater. Setting her sights on the silver screen, she moved to Los Angeles. While acting came naturally, she visualized herself on the other side of the camera. Focused on writing a raw, emotional story, granted Mahoney admission to the highly competitive Directors, and Writers Sundance Institute Labs program.  YELLING TO THE SKY, starring Zoe Kravitz, Jason Clarke, Gabourey Sidibe, Sonequa Martin and Tim Blake Nelson. premiered at the Berlin Film festival where it was nominated for the Golden Bear.  Mahoney became one of; "25 New Faces of Independent Film" by Filmmaker Magazine, one of Shadow&Act/ IndieWire's "Filmmakers to Watch", one of "3 Filmmakers to Watch" in Elle Magazine's Women In Hollywood issue, named an Auerbach Fellow, Annenberg Fellow, Cinereach Fellow, Maryland Fellow, Tribeca Fellow and IFP Narrative Lab fellow. On the television side, Mahoney's directed notable episodes of; THE MORNING SHOW, LOVECRAFT COUNTRY, AMERICAN CRIME, I AM THE NIGHT, YOU, SEVEN SECONDS, GYPSY, CLAWS, GREY'S ANATOMY, POWER, and QUEEN SUGAR. As well as, pilot episodes of THE RED LINE, and SUITS/LA. JJ Abrams tapped Mahoney to direct second unit on STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER. Most recently, Mahoney directed Netflix's OLD GUARD2. With several film and television projects in development, Mahoney is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures and Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), and the Directors Guild of America (DGA).

Jib Polhemus is an American film and television producer, literary manager and director based in Los Angeles, California. He began his career in the contemporary art business in New York and Los Angeles before moving into the entertainment industry through Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Over a career spanning more than 20 years, he has developed, produced and sold numerous high-profile film and television projects to major Hollywood studios, including Warner Bros., Universal, Paramount, Fox and Sony. In 2015, Polhemus founded Source Management + Production, a full-service literary management and production company representing cutting-edge film directors and screenwriters. He also serves as President of Simon West Productions, where he works closely with the British director to develop a diverse commercial slate. Through this role, he has been associated with highly successful projects and franchises such as Black Hawk Down, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Mechanic and The Expendables 2. Polhemus has produced a wide variety of features and series that have screened at top international film festivals, including Berlin, Tribeca, Zurich, Fantastic Fest and Bahamas. His producing credits include World Breaker (2026), Coyotes and Howling Wolves (2025), Sunrise and Old Guy (2024), and Taurus, Good Mourning, Boundless, One Way and Stowaway(2022). Earlier, he produced The Last Son (2021), Zone 414 (2020) and Gun Shy (2017), and served as executive producer on Stratton (2017) and Wild Card (2015). He also made his directorial debut with Criminals in 2017.

Chris Prapha is a Los Angeles–based talent manager and producer and a partner at AIG and the founder of Creative Partners Group. He works with international actors and creative talent across film, television, and brand partnerships, guiding careers and bringing talent together with distinctive projects and collaborators around the world.

With a relationship-driven approach and a global perspective, Chris works closely with clients, casting teams, producers, and studios to develop opportunities from early conversations through production. His work spans talent representation, producing, and creative partnerships across the United States, Europe, and Asia.