The Beaufort International Film Festival gets new digs, a flashy look and a bit of an edge.

Lowcountry Weekly’s been proud to be part of the Beaufort International Film Festival over the years, but this year we’re proud in a whole new way. For this sixth edition festival runners Ron Tucker and Rebecca Berry have ushered in a new era with bold moves designed to raise the fest’s profile and bolster its cachet. This year BIFF takes up residence in the Center for the Arts on the historic campus of the University of South Carolina, Beaufort. No more crossing the river to Lady’s Island or missed showings stuck in traffic waiting for the bridge to re-open. Beaufort’s film festival is finally home where it belongs – in Beaufort proper.

Award-winning film seeks to shed light on post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans

Writer/Director K. Lorrel Manning’s “Happy New Year” is a lock to raise eyebrows when it screens at this year’s Beaufort International Film Festival. But according to the filmmaker that’s the whole point of the film. Manning’s first full length feature – adapted from his own play – is a frank and often disturbing examination of the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder on American military personnel.

(Editor’s Note: This essay first appeared in Lowcountry Weekly in September of 2008. It has been edited for republication.)

A couple of mornings ago, the phone rang here at my home office, and despite the unfamiliar number on my caller I.D., I picked up.

Remember the good ol’ days when you just answered the phone? I was feeling nostalgic, I guess. Plus, the call was coming from Los Angeles, and Jeff has family and friends out that way, so I thought maybe, just maybe, the call was legit.

Tony Award winning theatre company to bring The Comedy of Errors to Hilton Head.

America’s foremost touring repertory company is bringing Shakespeare to the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina March 2, marking the first time a play by the literary icon has been staged in the Elizabeth Wallace Theatre.