Brendan Davis is a Paris-based writer, director, producer, and composer specializing in cross-cultural film and music projects.
ACTIVE PROJECTS:
Producer, International Troublemakers (US):
Currently developing Paris-based feature MY FAVORITE SEASON.
Founder, Malkuth Film (US/France):
DIRT TRACK HONEYMOON
Feature film (in development)
Atlanta, Georgia
Co-written & to be Directed by Brendan Davis
Producers: Stan Ruszkowski, Seth Slick, and Brendan Davis
Executive Producer: Stan Ruszkowski / Ruszkowski Entertainment
“A dirt-track racer / moonshine runner and his highschool sweetheart, a rising country singer, reunite in their small Southern hometown, rekindling old flames and chasing new dreams while navigating the challenges of love, ambition, and their wild pasts.”
“Dirt Track Honeymoon” (2025)
Short film
Directed by Brendan Davis
Written by Stan Ruszkowski, Seth Slick, and Brendan Davis
Producers: Seth Slick, Jordan Brown, Jason Dolan, Naeem Seirafi, Brendan Davis
Executive Producer: Stan Ruszkowski / Ruszkowski Entertainment
We shot a short film / music video proof-of-concept for Dirt Track Honeymoon in Atlanta in October 2024. The short features an original song that I wrote of the same name, now available worldwide. I returned to Paris to edit and mix the film, and it’s available on YouTube NOW - you can watch it here. I created a lyric video for the song as well. Some stills from the short film, starring Drew Waters, Coby Connell, Jonathan Ludwikowski, Artemis, Mabel Thomas, and Emily Topper, are below the videos…
ONE SHOT
Feature film (in development)
Paris, France
Written by & to be Directed by Brendan Davis
“When a lesbian couple struggles to conceive, their best friend and her husband agree to an unconventional arrangement that leads them all down an emotionally complicated path to parenthood.”
I’m thrilled to announce that One Shot, my Paris-set feature film, has taken a big step forward with Franco-Swiss filmmaker Dominique Othenin-Girard joining me as a French producer. Dominique’s career includes directing Hollywood studio films like Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers and award-winning independent dramas and documentaries throughout the world. His talent for emotionally layered and visually striking storytelling is well-established, and with his help, we can deliver One Shot as a deeply personal yet universally resonant modern tale.
“The Unwinding”
Short film (2013)
London, England
Written & Directed by Brendan Davis
TRT 25:00
Currently being developed as a feature film set in Newcastle
Produced by Roger King for 200 Media Ltd, UK and Brendan Davis, Susan Qin Davis, and Naeem Seirafi for Malkuth Film. Executive Producer: Stan Ruszkowski, Ruszkowski Entertainment.
Winner: Best Picture, 2023 Multi Dimension Independent Film Festival
Honorable Mention, 2023 Vienna International Film Awards
Official Selection, 2023 Cinematography & Photography Awards
Finalist, 2023 New York Cinematography Awards, 2023 European Cinematography Awards
Nominee, Best Short Film, 2025 Liverpool Indie Awards
“Chinagirl”
Written & Created By Brendan Davis
1-hr drama series
Currently being re-developed as a feature film set in Paris
Finalist, 2021 Oaxaca Film Fest
Quarterfinalist, 2023 Screencraft TV Pilot Script Competition
Quarterfinalist, 2023 Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards
A struggling entrepreneur enlists a compromised young woman to help him expand his business into China, with unintended global consequences.
CHINAGIRL is a character-driven drama set at the intersection of personal ambition and geopolitics.
The film follows Jason Harris, a driven but emotionally scarred American entrepreneur in Paris, trying to broker a life-changing deal with Chinese partners. His translator and partner, a brilliant Hong Kong-raised British woman fluent in Mandarin, is more than she appears—carrying with her the ghosts of a politically volatile legacy that could upend their personal and professional lives.
As their connection deepens, the stakes rise: what began as a bold business play becomes a tense moral and emotional reckoning. With powerful forces closing in from both sides of the globe, Chinagirl explores ambition, trust, trauma, and the cost of crossing borders—personal and political alike.
Etcetera:
I’ve previously been a moderator or panelist for events produced by Horasis (horasis.org), most recently making the case for a UBI in the US at the 2021 Horasis Extraordinary Meeting. Upcoming: panelist, “Cultural Synergy: The Role of Arts in Fostering Global Unity” at the Horasis Global Meeting in São Paulo, Brazil, 7-10 October 2025
And I’m also a reformed podcast host-producer, 300+ hours including -
Creator / Co-Founder / Host / EP, “How China Works” podcast (w / me and co-host / EP Yingying Li). Previously: “If I Knew You Better”, “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom” (all shows retired, but the archives are up forever)
Please CONTACT ME via the form here if you find you’d like to. Cheers.
Bio:
Brendan Davis – Writer, Director, Producer, Composer
Brendan Davis is an American writer, director, producer, and composer based in France. He has worked across independent and international productions, writing and directing documentaries and short films, producing festival-winning features, and consulting on projects in the U.S., the UK, China, France, Canada, Italy, and New Zealand.
As a producer, Davis has been involved in films premiering, competing, or winning at Sundance HK, Toronto, Berlin, and other festivals (Deadgirl, Born to Dance, Life With Fiona, Metamorphosis). In 2013, he produced the first Los Angeles-based season of the Chinese TV hit Jia Pian You Yue (The Best), featuring Stan Lee, Justin Lin, M. Night Shyamalan, Sean Astin, and others. He later wrote and directed the documentary Yibin: An Elemental Journey for CCTV in China and produced the feature documentary Crazyhot with director Eric Raine, chronicling a five-year global exploration of the ultra-hot chili pepper world.
Davis is currently producing My Favorite Season, an ambitious feature film set in the world of high fashion in Paris, for International Troublemakers. His role includes overseeing the project’s development and production strategy, as well as working closely with the director to shape and realize the creative vision while navigating the complexities of a high-budget international production. He is also developing The Bishop’s Man, an adaptation of Lynden MacIntyre’s best-selling novel, with acclaimed filmmaker Babak Payami (752 Is Not A Number, Secret Ballot) attached to direct in Nova Scotia.
As a writer-director and founder of Malkuth Film, Davis recently completed a major rewrite of One Shot, a sharp, character-driven drama set in Paris and Marseille, now in active development. He is also developing Dirt Track Honeymoon, a feature film set in and around his hometown of Atlanta that evolved from a short film and music video of the same name. Davis wrote and directed the short, as well as the accompanying song, which blends cinematic storytelling with a high-energy country-pop sound. The feature expands on the world and themes introduced in the short, offering a fresh take on love, recklessness, and small-town dreams.
In addition, Davis is developing The Unwinding, a psychological drama set in London that expands on his earlier short film of the same name. The feature deepens the tension and mystery of the original, exploring themes of paranoia, fate, and control, and relocates the story to Newcastle.
Davis is also attached to direct Liner Notes for writer-executive producer Anna Altman. Set in New York City, London, and Paris, and taking place across two decades, Liner Notes is a story set in the world of music that examines the human costs of fame and fortune. A proof-of-concept short is in development for Davis to direct in Paris in Fall 2025, with the feature film to follow in 2026.
Beyond film, Davis has a strong background in international media and East-West relations. He was a faculty member at the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, Chairman of Adamas Film International in Beijing, and a guest lecturer at the Beijing Film Academy. He also co-created and hosted the How China Works podcast and consultancy with Yingying Li, making numerous media appearances discussing the intersection of China and Hollywood.
He has spoken at Stanford University, UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and various international forums, including Horasis Global Meetings. Notably, he moderated panels on China’s Belt & Road Initiative and global multilateralism at Horasis summits, as well as a discussion at the virtual Horasis India Meeting in 2020 on India’s modernization. In December 2019, Davis was recognized as a Distinguished Foreign Expert by the Beijing Global Talent Exchange Association and served as an advisor to the organization through 2024.
With multiple projects in motion, Davis continues to build strategic partnerships in France and beyond. His work balances artistic vision with commercial appeal, and his ability to bridge different markets and storytelling styles makes him a filmmaker to watch.
“Dirt Track Honeymoon” short film / music video - Atlanta, Georgia 2024
“The Unwinding” short film - London, England 2023
Archives: US, France, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Italy
