Filmmaker Pat Heywood grew up in Fall River, Massachusetts. He graduated from Emerson College with a BA in Film and Television and was nominated to partake in the Writers Guild of America East Mentorship Program. Immediately after graduating, he began working as an assistant, then a coordinator at the production company SMUGGLER. During his four years at the company, he worked on projects for a roster of world-class directors, including Barry Jenkins, Kathryn Bigelow, Tom Hooper, Bennett Miller, Todd Field, Henry-Alex Rubin, Susanne Bier, and Chris Smith.

Based in Brooklyn, Heywood writes and directs films with Jamil McGinnis. Their film work has been featured on PBS, NOWNESS, Booooooom, Blavity, Button Poetry, Poets & Writers, Shots, SHOOT, Designcollector, Moving Poems, and Mubi. Their films have been screened at the Brooklyn Film Festival, Walker Arts Center, and Playa Studios.