Fandango Productions South and the Beaufort Film Society are bringing Hollywood glamour to this year’s Beaufort International Film Festival.

The Beaufort International Film Festival is approaching, and this year the anticipated event is sure to wow! Beginning with the Opening Ceremony to be held on Wednesday, February 15 on the rooftop of Old Bay Marketplace, 917 Bay Street, the 2012 festival is sure to be hailed as the most enchanting yet.

The Beaufort Film Society presents the four-day event each year. Its President, Ron Tucker wanted to deliver the 2012 festival with all the bells and whistles of true Hollywood glamour. So this year, the Beaufort International Film Festival signed on help from Fandango Productions South to deliver stunning and memorable décor to the festival.

Fandango Productions South, a national event-planning firm, is headquartered in Beaufort and caters to the southeastern market. Their creative capability is immeasurable. They have access to a myriad of props and the manpower to install large-scale décor, which is what you’ll see at this year’s festival at USCB’s Center for the Arts.

The Opening Ceremony atop the Old Bay Marketplace will include one-of-a-kind centerpieces and the essential tabletops and bar for the classic Lowcountry cocktail party, but with a West Coast influence. Emily’s, SuZara’s, Griffin Market, Port Royal Pasta Company, Breakwater and Saltus will offer food stations throughout the reception.

Original Lighting will be a large part of the night - colorblaster lights will be placed every few feet along the walls, both inside and out, to create an original ambiance throughout the evening. Additionally, Fandango Productions will project the Beaufort International Film Festival’s logo in bright clean light onto the façade of the brick wall, making a dramatic statement while keeping the beautiful view unobstructed. Each of the glass skylights will be lit from below with red uplights, creating a visual centerpiece of the entire space. And surrounding the glass skylight structures will be white leather lounge furniture. There will be 24 flags hung from a tent structure and around the perimeter to represent the countries with submissions in the film festival.

The Opening Ceremony is sure to impress even the active socialite who’s seen all the best parties! But that’s just the beginning. The actual festival begins Thursday, February 16 at a new venue, USCB’s Center for the Arts.

As guests arrive to film screenings, they will notice the large light projection of the Beaufort International Film Festival logo onto the façade of the USCB building in bright white light. It will even be visible from the street, which will be attractive to both locals and visitors. For an added touch of Hollywood, red carpet will be placed on the sidewalk leading from the parking lot to the front door.

The lobby area of the Center for the Arts will be completely draped from floor to ceiling to achieve a total transformation. The draping will be blue janus pipe and drape – dramatic, but not too flashy – and will allow a complete color changeover for the awards ceremony to stand out noticeably.

The ticket booth will be housed in the offices of the lobby of the Arts Center at USCB. This area will be draped in Silver Satin to continue the look of the exterior curved wall, but will have a large 2’x6’ custom sign to identify its purpose in style. Blue and silver stanchions and ropes will guide the crowd and add an extra “movie theater” touch.

Fandango is even creating a Green Room for this year’s festival! This space will provide a tongue-in-cheek nod to the movie industry’s most famous (or infamous...) space. This room will be lit from floor to ceiling in green saturated light and house white leather lounge furniture. It will be a relaxing space for VIPs, press, and Film Festival volunteers to blog, rest, and network. Seating on bench style lounge furniture and a centralized square bench will anchor the space.

At the Awards Ceremony on Saturday, February 18, the lobby area of the Center for the Arts will be transformed – the walls will be covered in floor to ceiling gold double-layered pipe and drape. Accent colors for the night will be black and ivory, to resemble the clapboard of a movie production.

Guests will enjoy an Awards Ceremony cocktail hour with champagne and appetizers in the beautifully decorated lobby space before the Awards presentations begin at 8pm.

There is no holding back at this year’s festival, which is bringing the needed look and feel of Hollywood to Beaufort. Organizers work tirelessly year-round to choose films, solicit sponsors and memberships, plan this unforgettable event and promote the Beaufort Film Society. This event is becoming recognized as THE authoritative film festival in the southeast. And this year, its décor will complement all of the coordinators’ hard work. Tucker and his volunteers deserve the Red Carpet treatment, and they will get it in 2012.

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