Ozzie Banicki

Ozzie Banicki, Screen writer, grew up on the north end of Flint, Michigan in a second generation Polish/American family and was the first one to attend and graduate from college. He went on to obtain a M.A. in Speech Communication.

His college teaching career started at a community college in Florida as a speech professor and Director of Intercollegiate Speech and Debate. He subsequently taught and coached speech and debate at North Florida University, Mississippi Valley State University and Prairie View A&M University, which are historically black universities. 

Traveling in the south with a mixed race team was a challenge that sometimes led to dynamic action. His speech teams were inexperienced however very successful on the circuits with competition from major universities including some Ivy League schools.

Ozzie is also a proficient speechwriter (ghostwriter) and a good debater himself --  finishing second in a World International Debate competition, losing in the finals to a gentleman from India on a 4-3 decision. He ghosted speeches for national politicians and has few peers with similar experiences.

Several years ago Ozzie wrote a screenplay that was a finalist in the Houston International Film Festival. His latest screenplay, Elisa, was a finalist at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.