Blog entries

MoBros @Foolish Frog

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 16:39:22 +0100

[video:http://youtu.be/w-wdNC92i7o 100x100]

Beekman Webb just dropped by to let us know these young men will be playing two shows this Saturday (8/30) at The Foolish Frog, 8 & 10. Beek says these kids are going places and we'll take him at his word. Check out the video and imagine the damage they're capable of with instruments. See you at the Frog.

My Friend in Japan

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 15:18:52 +0100

My friend Kimberly – Beaufort born and bred – has been living in Japan for about two years now. Her husband, a Marine, is stationed there. Though they live some 500 miles from the earthquake/ tsunami damaged areas, Kimberly has a very personal take on the tragedy that's rocked this country she’s come to love. She’s given me permission to link to her blog, “Only Gaijin on the Train.”

Here’s an excerpt from a recent post:

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:01:03 +0100

My column for this issue was inspired by a game of Monopoly I played with my daughter Amelia one night last week. The conversation that unfolded during the game was so funny – as conversations often are between children and adults – that I thought it might make a whimsical, light-hearted piece. But as I transcribed that conversation from memory the next day, it occurred to me that this episode was more than just funny... it was somewhat revelatory. I hope this column, which Read More...

flowers & trees & geese (oh my!)

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 20:43:55 +0100

Just got back from a walk around my neighborhood on yet another radically gorgeous day. After a particularly wintry winter, this premature spring seems especially… special. Doesn’t it?

First, let me just say this: Pigeon Point is not everybody’s idea of the “perfect neighborhood.” But it is mine. Always has been. I longed to live here even before I knew itRead More...

About My Green Piece

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 01:02:25 +0100

So, I had this big ol' phone interview with Jonathan Green the other day. Yep, THE Jonathan Green, Lowcountry artist extraordinaire. He's coming to USCB for a lecture on March 4th, and I wanted to get the scoop about that and a bunch of other things. I was incredibly edgy all day as I awaited the appointed hour of our call. As the clock ticked ever-closer to 2 pm, I felt tRead More...

Bravo BIFF!

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 15:02:39 +0100

We’ve had some terrific guest bloggers pinch-hitting for us throughout BIFF. Screenwriter/documentarian Teresa Bruce and SCAD film instructor Duncan Pittman have done marvelous work, keeping you up-close-and-personal with BIFF, while Mark Shaffer and I hobnobbed with the filmmakers like a couple of college kids on Spring Break. (Actually, Mark was working AND hobnobbing. I just hobnobbed.) I’m sure Duncan will be writing up last night’s Award Ceremony later today, and she&rsRead More...

Last chance to say you met them when...

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 19:30:40 +0100

So you thought the BIFF opening reception at the Arsenal was glam. Well tonight’s awards gala at the USCB performing arts center should top that. Not all the directors could make it to the opening, but almost all of them are coming to find out if they win. Here’s a sneak peek at who you might meet if you show up at 7pm for the cocktail hour before the show:

Straight from LA – the crew from Lt. Dan Band documentary will be out in force. Disney producer Jonathan Flora&rRead More...

McGowan and his boy BIFF

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 18:08:13 +0100

If BIFF were the name of a 5 year old child, local character John McGowan would consider him a well-raised rascal. Born in Beaufort in 2006, BIFF is the apple of John McGowan's eye.

"Another Success!" McGowan cheers, settling for a brief second into a lobby chair between screenings.

McGowan will be the first to tell you that has been involved with the BIFF since it was born. Like a dedicated guardian, he has watched it grow up and mature, and has devoted much time and enerRead More...

NCSA Challenges Regional Film Schools to a Rumble

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 16:36:15 +0100

Winston-Salem has invaded Beaufort!

Well, their student filmmakers have, that is. Among the impressive amount of student submissions at this year's BIFF, it is noticeable that the majority of them boast the alma mater credit of "The University of North Carolina School of the Arts." Located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, NCSA has produced a flock of new filmmakers who have migrated back to Beaufort in search of new audiences for new films. Kate Miller, CoordinaRead More...

"A Marine Story" Comes Out as All-American

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 16:16:17 +0100

Filmmaker Ned Farr was not trying to make a political movie. Rather, he was doing what every great storyteller should do: tell a story that has not been told, and tell it well. Coinciding with the recent overturn of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, A Marine Story's auspicious debut in a military town like Beaufort was timely in context, but a happy accident in location. So far, the reception has been very Read More...

Home Movies

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 04:02:39 +0100

The Q&A following Angel Camouflaged – a film which attracted a little over 400 film-goers (a record for the festival so far!) – exemplified the traditional spirit of teamwork and grassroots support that indie films necessitate and celebrate. Filmmaker Michael Givens, wife Nicole, and the film's cast and crew filled the stage. When asked byRead More...

Indie Cred is Back!

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 03:25:44 +0100

Fantastic. Amazing. Impressive. These sycophantic (and usually undeserved) praises are normally reserved for bloated, big budget Hollywood films or gaunt, award-hungry art house pictures. Yes, pretty words with good intentions that roll off the tongue and "put butts in seats," as the old producers used to say. However, in the case of tonight's first feature, Angel Camouflaged, audience response suggests that the independent film world just might wrestle such praise back from the big boys. BasRead More...

The Perks of Being a Solo Cinephile

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 02:39:39 +0100

Solo cinephile and Beaufort local Larry Meisner found luck on Lady's Island tonight. Arriving to festival headquarters for the highly anticipated, 7pm screening of Angel Camouflaged, he wasn't that surprised to learn that the simultaneous screenings the film were both sold out and packed to the rafters--that is, for one lone seat. Just his luck! Couples and traffic-delayed journalists be darned, Meisner successfully snagged the last seat. Floating in a swirling sea of couple, cast membeRead More...

BIFF: Friday Highlights

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 01:22:41 +0100

A huge day at the Beaufort International Film Festival, with capacity crowds for virtually every screening. As for highlights - almost too many to mention and standouts in every category.

The Short Film category is particularly strong this year, and among them two of my favorites screened today. Seth Boggess wrote and directed Left Alone, based on a Chekhov short story and shot on the streets of Chicago with talent right off the Steppenwolf Theater stage. It shows.

[video:http:/Read More...

Behind the scenes at a table-read

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 21:16:04 +0100

Tables, in Beaufort, South Carolina at least, have better reasons for existence than for actors to sit around them reading. As soon as director Bruce Doneff realized that we were going to have a big audience for last night’s table read of the Beaufort International Film Festival screenplay finalists, he made an executive decision. The microphone-less actors were going to have to stand and project. So he moved the table from the stage to the back of the house, draped it in lovely black fRead More...

A thank you to Beaufort, from France

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 19:00:47 +0100

A quick update on one of the feature film finalists -- the lovely, lyrical French film "Ich bin eine Terroristan," by director Valérie Gaudissart that premiered last night at 5pm. What a great crowd turned up to soak in the most European of all the festival entries. Our only disappointment was not being able to meet the filmmaker. She was just as disappointed, and kind enough to send this email. I know she won't mind me sharing parts of it.

deRead More...

BIFF'ing merrily along....

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 16:59:32 +0100

Taking a break here at BIFF. Just saw Seth Boggess's heart-wrenching short, Left Alone, which was everything I expected, and more. Adapted from a Chekov short story, but set in modern-day urban America, Left Alone resonates with the poignant truth that we humans are simultaneously hired-wired for connection and hell-bent on being islands unto ourselves. The story of a cab driver who's just lost his only child was the first of the festival to inspire sniffles throughout the theater (which, incRead More...

Up Bright & Early at BIFF

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 15:31:24 +0100

Live blogging isn't really my thing. I like to ruminate before I write.... But I just got out of Innocent Crimes, one of the five Feature Films here at BIFF, and wanted to say a quick, "Bravo!" to director Jonathan Green (not THAT Jonathan Green) before ducking into the next film, which starts in about five minutes. Innocent Crimes was dark, haunting, and deliciously creepy. The black and white format underscored said creepiness perfectly.... don't think I'll shake this chill any time soon. BRead More...

BIFF Day 1 Wrap/Day 2 Roll

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 14:36:37 +0100

Images and observations from day one of The Beaufort International Film Festival...

A packed house for the local documentary Sea Island Secrets Q&A session. The project's been picked up for broadcast on SCETV this spring.

Actor/Writer/Director Benjamin Busch talks to the audienRead More...

BIFF Day 1: SRO & Surprises

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 18:52:55 +0100

DAY ONE SURPRISES

So far all expectations for attendance have been exceeded. Two sell-outs (a festival first) as the local doc Sea Island Secrets fills the main theater and pushes onto the overflow screen.

Micheal Givens' feature, Angel Camouflaged, is SRO fro tomorrow's double screening, as well.

Also, this evening's screenwriter's table read for gets an unexpected kiRead More...