9th Annual Beaufort International Film Festival Names Winners

BEAUFORT, S.C. - Feb. 17, 2015 - PRLog -- The Ninth  Annual Beaufort International Film Festival is in the books. Record books that is. The festival concluded on February 14th with the winners being announced in 12 categories and the presentation of the first ever Spirit & Pride Award of South Carolina to  Actress/Model and native South Carolinian. Andie MacDowell. This inaugural award was presented by Best Selling author and Academy Award nominated screenwriter Pat Conroy.

Beginning with a record turnout for the Opening Ceremony, the crowds continued to swell over the next three days of screenings and ending with a record crowd of over 500 for the Festival Awards Ceremony. In all, it's estimated that approximately 10,000 people attended at least some part of the four day festival. This tops the nearly 8000 who attended in 2014.   Early indications are that more than 65% of attendees were from outside a radius of 50 miles from Beaufort. A record number of filmmakers also attended this year's festival. From as far away as Rome, Italy to as close as St. Helena, SC, nearly 70 filmmakers took part in this year's festival.  Screenings averaged nearly 300 in attendance with 7 screenings with 400 or more people.

Location Specialist Steve Rhea from Charleston, SC  was presented “Behind the Scenes” Award for his more than 30 years of work in the film and television industry.

Other Winners include:

Best Feature:  Dig Two Graves , directed by Hunter Adams, Los Angeles, CA;

Best Documentary:  Cotton Road, directed by Laura Kissel, Columbia, SC

Best Short Film: Times Like Dying, directed by Evan Vetter, Wilmington, NC

Best Student Film:  Into the Silent Sea, directed by Andrej Landin, Dodge College, Chapman University, Orange, CA.

Best Comedy: Cinema Purgatorio, directed by Chris White, Greenville, SC

Best Animation:  Light Me Up, directed by Derek Dolechek, Ryan Walton, Dodge College, Chapman University, Orange, CA.

Best Screenplay:  Club Bong Son, written by Tom Bixby, St. Helena, SC

Best Actress:  Lacy Marie Meyer, New York, NY  ( Suck It Up Buttercup)

Best Actor: Ted Levine, Los Angeles, CA (Dig Two Graves)

Best Director: Hunter Adams, Los Angeles, CA  (Dig Two Graves)

Audience Choice:   Cinema Purgatorio (Director Chris White),

The Beaufort International Film Festival is produced by the Beaufort Film Society. For more information visit www.beaufortfilmfestival.com and www.beaufortfilmsociety.org.

The Beaufort Film Society is a nonprofit, 501 (c) 3, member-supported organization, dedicated to providing the highest levels of entertainment and education to the public from all areas of the film industry.