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Bahamas International Film Festival Names Producer and Former U.S. Ambassador Nicole Avant 2026 Visionary Producer Honoree

A full-circle moment: the award-winning producer and bestselling author, who first attended BIFF in 2009 as U.S. Ambassador, returns to receive the Visionary Producer Award and named Honorary Patron 

Nicole Avant. Photo credit: John Russo.

NASSAU, The Bahamas — October 29, 2026 — The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) today announced that Nicole Avant, the award-winning producer behind The Black Godfather and The Six Triple Eight, bestselling author, philanthropist and former United States Ambassador to The Bahamas, will serve as Guest of Honour at the 2026 Festival. This year's Festival spans two destinations: Harbour Island from December 7 to 9, followed by Nassau from December 10 to 14.

At the Opening Night Gala at Baha Mar in Nassau on Thursday, December 10, BIFF will present Avant with the Visionary Producer Award and confer upon her the title of Honorary Patron of the Bahamas International Film Festival. The Visionary Producer Award recognises Avant's distinctive body of work as a producer who brings powerful, often untold stories to the screen.

“Nicole Avant is a powerhouse in her own right: a producer, author and diplomat who has opened doors wherever she has gone, and her contribution to The Bahamas is part of its record. This honour reflects the regard in which she is held, not only by this Festival, but by the film industry around the globe and The Bahamas as a whole,” said Leslie Vanderpool, BIFF Founder & Executive Director.

In 2019, Avant produced the acclaimed Netflix documentary The Black Godfather, chronicling the life and legacy of her father, legendary music executive Clarence Avant. The film was named one of the National Board of Review's Top Documentaries of the Year and earned Emmy and NAACP Image Award nominations. She went on to executive produce the award-winning 2021 film Trees of Peace, the story of four women who form an unlikely bond while seeking refuge during the Rwandan genocide. In 2024, she was a producer on Tyler Perry's The Six Triple Eight, the true story of the first all-Black female battalion to serve overseas during World War II, which won five NAACP Image Awards and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. Perry, who regards The Bahamas as his second home, has a deep affection for the islands.

Her eye for storytelling was shaped in the music industry, where she began her career in promotions at A&M Records before becoming Vice President at Interior Music Publishing, overseeing artist relations and music licensing. In 2023, she added author to her credits: her memoir, Think You'll Be Happy, became an instant national bestseller, and a children's book is now in development.

Inspired by Ms. Avant's presence, the 2026 Festival will pay tribute to producers, the creative forces who bring stories from idea to screen. As part of this focus, BIFF will host a Producers Lab running throughout the Festival, with sessions on producing, pitching and development, giving Bahamian and international filmmakers the chance to sharpen their craft and bring their projects to market.

Avant’s association with BIFF began in 2009, when she attended the Festival with her husband, Ted Sarandos, now CEO of Netflix. Seventeen years later, she returns to the Festival to be honoured in her own right.

"One of my earliest and fondest memories as the U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas was meeting Leslie Vanderpool and everyone from the Bahamas International Film Festival. My husband Ted and I were fortunate to be a part of this festival in its early years, and it has been a joy to watch it grow into a platform that gives filmmakers from The Bahamas and around the globe a place to be seen and heard. I have only the fondest memories of serving and living in The Bahamas. To return as this year’s honoree, and to celebrate producers and the power of storytelling, truly feels like a beautiful homecoming,"  said Nicole Avant, former U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas and 2026 BIFF Guest of Honour.

Appointed by President Barack Obama, Avant served as U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas from 2009 to 2011, the first African American woman and the youngest person to hold the post. True to her roots, she drew on her connections in entertainment to open doors for The Bahamas. 

Her tenure centred on six priorities close to her heart: economic and small business development, education, women's empowerment, alternative energy, combating human trafficking, and championing the rights of people with disabilities. Long before green energy became a common diplomatic priority in the region, she supported programmes in environmental stewardship and energy security, helping The Bahamas explore alternative energy partnerships with the United States.

Her service earned her a nomination for the State Department's Sue M. Cobb Award for Exemplary Diplomatic Service. In a lasting tribute, Bahamian business leaders established The Ambassador Nicole Avant Scholarship Foundation, which funds academic scholarships across the islands. The ties she built between the two nations endure today, and her visit in December marks her official return to The Bahamas.

Avant continues to support initiatives centred on education, women and youth, including the Jacqueline Avant Children and Family Center, created in honour of her mother.

Event Details

• Opening Night Gala and Tribute to Nicole Avant: Thursday, December 10, Baha Mar, Nassau (time and details on the BIFF website)

• Producers Lab (producing, pitching and development): throughout the Festival, December 7 to 14

More information on venues, times and tickets will follow.

About the Bahamas International Film Festival

Founded by Leslie Vanderpool, the Bahamas International Film Festival is a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing the local Bahamian community and international visitors with a diverse presentation of films from around the world. BIFF screens films unlikely to receive a theatrical release in The Bahamas, alongside educational programmes and forums exploring cinema's past, present and future.

The Festival has showcased more than 1,000 films and welcomed figures including Morgan Freeman, Cicely Tyson, Sir Sean Connery, Anthony Mackie, Grace Jones, Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, Naomie Harris, Zoë Kravitz, Daryl Hannah, Laurence Fishburne, Debra Messing, Danny Glover, Heather Graham, Sophie Okonedo, Michael K. Williams, Anna Faris, Sawyer Spielberg, Rae Dawn Chong, Spike Lee, Sydney Tamiia Poitier and Chaz Ebert, among others, and MovieMaker Magazine has named BIFF one of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World more than once, positioning The Bahamas as a premier film destination. Film critic Jeffrey Lyons has called BIFF “a shining light among a large field of film festivals.” Learn more at www.bintlfilmfest.com.

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