Blythe Danner (Actress - film, television and stage). Multi-Emmy nominated actress who first won acting acclaim for her performance in the play Summertree (1968). She then won a Best Supporting Actress Tony for her Broadway debut in Butterflies Are Free. She has also accrued an impressive film resume, with films such as Brighton Beach Memoirs, and Meet the Parents and its sequels. Most recently she co-starred in the TV Mini-series, Madoff and starred in I'll See You In My Dreams. She was awarded the Jean Ribaut Award for Acting Excellence at the Beaufort International Film Festival in 2010. She co-starred in three movies shot in the Beaufort area; The Great Santini, The Prince of Tides, and Forces of Nature.

 

 

 

 

 

Julie Dash (She broke through racial and gender boundaries with her Sundance award-winning film (Best Cinematography) Daughters of the Dust (filmed in Beaufort, SC), and she became the first African American woman to have a wide theatrical release of her feature film. In 2004, The Library of Congress placed Daughters of the Dust in the National Film Registry where it joins a select group of American films preserved and protected as national treasures; Dash is the only African American woman with a feature film that has been inducted into the National Film Registry. She serves currently as the Distinguished Professor of Cinema, Television and Emerging Media (CTEMS) at Morehouse College. She has written and directed for CBS, BET, ENCORE STARZ, SHOWTIME, MTV Movies and HBO, directing, the NAACP Image Award winning, Emmy and DGA nominated, The Rosa Parks Story, Incognito, Funny Valentines. Her work as a film director includes theme park, Disney's Imagineering, and museum design Brothers of the Borderland for The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Museum.

 

 

 

 

 

Jonathan Flora ( Award-winning producer, formerly with Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment), also directing commercials, music videos, and most recently a series of PSAs addressing Military Suicide Prevention. He is the Director/Producer of the Award Winning Documentary, "Lt. Dan Band: For The Common Good" featuring Academy Award Nominated Actor Gary Sinise with appearances by Robert Duvall, Jon Voight, and more. In 2011, he received the inaugural Santini Patriot Spirit Award from the Beaufort International Film Festival, which presented to a filmmaker whose work honors American veterans or their families. He currently serves as the President/Partner of Lamplight Entertainment.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eugene Gearty (sound engineer). He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Sound for the film Gangs of New York. He has worked on over 80 films since 1983. He won an Oscar for Best Sound for his work on Martin Scorsese's Hugo and was also nominated for an Oscar for the movie Life of Pi. He won an Emmy for Boardwalk Empire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andie MacDowell (Actress, Model,), Andie MacDowell is a globally recognized actress and beauty icon. MacDowell earned the title of #1 female box-office draw with her performances in the smash hit romantic comedy "Four Weddings and a Funeral," for which she received a Golden Globe nomination, and opposite Bill Murray in the iconic comedy "Groundhog Day." She first received critical acclaim and accolades for her performance as a repressed young wife in Steven Soderbergh's "sex, lies and videotape." The film won the Palme d'or at Cannes and garnered MacDowell the Independent Spirit Award and the Los Angeles Film Critics Award for Best Actress as well as her first Golden Globe nomination. Additionally, she has been presented with the coveted Cesar D'Honneur for her body of work, the Golden Kamera Award from Germany's Horzu Publications and the Taormina Arte Award for Cinematic Excellence. She is also proud to have served as an international spokesmodel for L'Oreal Paris for over 30 years. MacDowell is the longest serving beauty spokesmodel in history. She was the inaugural recipient of the South Carolina Spirit & Pride Award presented to her by Best Selling Author Pat Conroy at the 2015 Beaufort International Film Festival.

 

 

 

Dale Dye is one of the most recognized and respected players in the movie and TV industry. His work has had a huge effect both behind and before the cameras, particularly in projects with a military theme. He has been credited with single-handedly changing the way Hollywood makes war movies. 

The work of Dale Dye in Hollywood has ranged from technical adviser to acting roles in war movies, many of which earned acclaim such as “Platoon,” “Casualties of War,” “Saving Private Ryan” and “Band of Brothers” and he hosted History Channel’s documentary series, “The Conquerors.” 

His firm, Warriors, Inc., has worked on more than fifty movies and TV shows including several Academy Award and Emmy winning productions. To further his agenda, Dale also founded Warriors Publishing Group which publishes a premium slate of military-themed books written by veteran authors. 

Dale Dye is a published novelist, screenwriter and director as well as a consummate character actor with critically-acclaimed appearances in many films and television productions. He is the inaugural recipient of the BIFF Pat Conroy Lifetime Achievement Award. 

 

 

 

 

 

Craig McKay (Two time Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award Winner) He received the prestigious Jean Ribaut Award for Film Editing at the 6th Annual Beaufort International Film Festival in 2012. Mr. McKay is an award-winning feature film editor, director, and executive producer. Recognized with two Oscar nominations for editing Reds and The Silence of the Lambs, and an Emmy and Eddie Award for editing the NBC mini-series Holocaust, he has edited more than fifty films including Philadelphia, The Manchurian Candidate, Cop Land, Maid in Manhattan, and Robert Redford's The Conspirator.

 

 

 

 

 

Gary Sinise's film and television career has spanned more than four decades. In 1974, at 18 years old, he co-founded Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company. 20 years later, for his performance as Lt Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump, he received nominations for Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Awards, and earned the Best Supporting Actor Award from the National Board of Review and the Commander's Award from the Disabled American Veterans. Other film credits include Apollo 13, Ransom, Snake Eyes, Impostor, The Green Mile, Mission to Mars and The Human Stain. 

 

 

 

 

 

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