In 1995, while enrolled in Southern Methodist University’s Pre-Med program, Dax Phelan decided to double-major in Cinema and English Literature (with a Creative Writing Specialization) instead – after seeing Lodge Kerrigan’s “Clean, Shaven” at the USA Film Festival. Over the next three years, Phelan penned seven feature-length screenplays, in addition to writing, producing, and directing half a dozen short films, including “Lake of Fire” (1996), a film about living with mental illness, “Crash Where You Land” (1997), a documentary about homeless teens living on the streets of New Orleans’ French Quarter, and “Slice of Life” (1997), a personal film made possible after Phelan’s screenplay was awarded the Student Filmmakers’ Association’s annual grant.

After graduating, Phelan moved to Los Angeles in order to pursue an MFA in Screenwriting at the prestigious American Film Institute, where he was awarded the American Express Scholarship in the name of Academy Award-winner Helen Hunt (“Mad About You,” “As Good As It Gets”). For the next two years, Phelan studied under the likes of Academy Award-winner Frank Pierson (screenwriter: “Dog Day Afternoon,” “Cool Hand Luke,” et al.), Academy Award-winner Seth Winston (screenwriter/director: “Session Man”), and Gill Dennis (screenwriter: “Walk The Line”). Concurrently, Phelan was selected to work as a development intern for veteran producer Mace Neufeld (“The Omen,” “No Way Out,” “The Hunt for Red October,” et al.) at Paramount Pictures. On the side, Phelan worked as a story analyst for Forward Pass (Michael Mann’s production company) and for The Kennedy/Marshall Company (Steven Spielberg’s producing team).

In 2000, when Phelan graduated from AFI, Neufeld hired him as his Story Editor under his new “first look” deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment. In 2001, Neufeld promoted Phelan to the position of Creative Executive, charging him with the task of working closely with some of Hollywood’s finest screenwriters, in order to develop new projects. During his tenure at Mace Neufeld Productions,

Phelan worked on such projects as “The Sum of All Fears,” “Man on Fire,” “Invictus,” and “Argo,” to name just a few. Then, in 2003, producer Susanna Jolly optioned Phelan’s WWII-set horror screenplay, “The Keep.” As the demand for his own writing services grew, Phelan amicably parted ways with his MNP family and quickly sold three scripts back to back, including an adaptation of Ken Follett’s spy thriller, “The Key to Rebecca.” Phelan’s absence from the Sony lot would prove to be short-lived, however, when Neufeld brought him back to work on a remake of Laurence Harvey’s “A Dandy in Aspic” and a big-screen adaptation of the ‘80s TV classic, “The Equalizer.”

Over the years, Phelan has partnered with his former AFI instructor, Seth Winston, on the sports drama, “If Only,” penned the action- thriller, “A Show of Force,” for actor-producer Byron Mann ("Altered Carbon," “The Big Short"), collaborated with Glen Chin and Roberta Chow on the comedies, “The Girlfriend Experience” and “Laughing Buddha,” adapted the WWII epic drama, “Charlie Two Shoes,” for producer Stratton Leopold (“The Wolf Man,” “Mission: Impossible III”), and sold the TV pitch, “At Your Service,” to CBS/Paramount with David Engel (“Straight Outta Compton”) attached to produce.

In 2013, Phelan returned to his independent film roots, associate producing the Bret Easton Ellis-penned “The Canyons” for director Paul Schrader (“American Gigolo”). In 2014, together with Academy Award-nominee Oren Moverman (“The Messenger,” “Rampart”), Phelan executive produced Anja Marquardt’s “She’s Lost Control,” which won the CICAE Art Cinema Award and played to sold-out audiences at Berlinale, SXSW, and New Directors/New Films. The film was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards: Best First Feature and Best Screenplay.

In 2015, Phelan wrote, produced, and directed his feature directorial debut, “JASMINE.” The film played in 75 festivals worldwide and won 96 awards, including 17 for Best Picture, 10 for Best Director, and 5 for Best Screenplay. After winning Best Picture at the Berlin Independent Film Festival in February 2017, the film was acquired by Indican Pictures and released theatrically on June 16, 2017. In 2016, Phelan adapted Neil White’s New York Times bestseller, “In the Sanctuary of Outcasts,” for producer Stratton Leopold (“Mission: Impossible III”).

Phelan is currently co-producing Orson Welles’s long-awaited final film, “The Other Side of the Wind,” with Frank Marshall (“Jurassic World”), executive producing Bel Powley’s directorial debut, “Little Hard,” executive producing Andrew Stanley’s “Flowers Of The Field” with Lodge Kerrigan (TV’s “The Girlfriend Experience”), and preparing to direct his second feature film, “Kirkwood.” He is repped by Danny Passman at Gang, Tyre, Ramer, & Brown and Terence E. Groves at Maximfilms in Sydney, Australia.  Phelan divides his time between Los Angeles, Santa Barbara County, and New York.