New film that reveals Beaufort’s contributions to ‘Forrest Gump’ will debut at film festival

Thirty years, a handful of Oscars and more than a half billion in ticket sales later, the world will get a peek into Beaufort’s key role in the making of one of the most popular movies in American history.

The iconic film “Forrest Gump” was a box-office smash, becoming the second-highest grossing movie of 1994 behind “The Lion King,” with a box office total of more than $678.2 million worldwide. The film also earned five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor in a leading role for Tom Hanks and Best Director for Robert Zemeckis.

What’s less known is how the film starring Hanks, Sally Field and Gary Sinise impacted the lives of residents of Beaufort, where much of it was made, and how they contributed to the making of a blockbuster.

“Spirit of Beaufort: Remembering Forrest Gump,” is a new 90-minute documentary featuring interviews with residents who had fascinating behind-the-scenes roles. It also takes viewers to the Lowcountry locations of some of the movie’s most famous scenes, like the Lady’s Island house that, in the film, was the family home of Bubba, Gump’s shrimp-loving brother-in-arms.

It will be shown for the first time Saturday, Feb. 24 at the Beaufort International Film Festival. As of Wednesday, it was sold out.

“Most people who know ‘Forrest Gump’ say, ‘There’s no way it’s been 30 years since that film has been made,’” says Ron Tucker, president of the Beaufort Film Society and the festival director. “People are enamored a little town like Beaufort, South Carolina was the site for most of the scenes.”

Tucker thinks the 2024 BIFF may set attendance records because of the Gump documentary and a feature film called “The Final Run,” which is also generating buzz. “Final Run” is about a former drug-runner’s return to smuggling to save his family, with the story loosely based on the so-called “gentlemen smugglers” in Beaufort County who were swept up by law enforcement in the 1980s.

Both the film and documentary were made entirely in the Beaufort area and both will be making their premier during the festival, which is Feb. 20-25.

“The word everybody keeps using is epic,” Tucker says of this year’s festival.

A third South Carolina-made film also is drawing interest and competing for top honors in the feature film category. The drama, directed by Thomas Torrey, is called “Long December” and follows a struggling artist pursuing his dream of music over a period of one month.

‘People saw the scenery’

Forrest Gump, which remains popular today on streaming services, helped put Beaufort on the map when it was released July 6, 1994. The film followed previous Hollywood films made in the city including “Prince of Tides,” “The Great Santini” and “The Big Chill.”

The film changed Beaufort, Tucker says.

“The biggest thing was visibility,” Tucker says. “People saw the scenery.”

And when the film came out, he added, “Everybody wanted to find out where that film was made.”

Originally, Tucker says, the filmmakers were only planning to film the Vietnam scenes on Hunting and Fripp islands. When they saw the sunsets and vistas, they said, “Wait a minute, there’s more we can do here.”

Where did the period clothes come from?

Directed by Daniel Stanislawski of Poland, the 90-minute documentary “is a form of observation of the inhabitants of the city of Beaufort” who participated in the production of the film and how it positively influenced many of their lives while contributing to the film making lore of the entire state.

Locals will recognize many of the people who were interviewed for the documentary, which was co-produced by the Beaufort Film Society, the production company behind the BIFF.

For example, Neil Lipsitz, a member of the Beaufort City Council, talks about the period clothes and shoes Lipsitz Department Store supplied for the cast. Remember the close-up shot of Jenny’s high-heeled sandals as she climbed onto the ledge of an apartment patio and considered jumping to her death on the street below? The store closed in 2009.

“There’s a lot of little connections in this film [that] people will be fascinated when they see it,” Tucker said.

Was that underbite real?

Mykelti Williamson played “Bubba” opposite star Hanks as Forrest Gump. His unforgettable underbite was created by local dentist Dr. Gerald Cummings, who is now retired. Cummings discusses the dental prosthetics he made for not only the Bubba character but also for other cast members.

Both Sally Field, who played Forrest Gump’s mother, and Hanks also needed prosthetics as they aged in the film, Tucker noted.

Were real reporters chasing Forrest?

Juan Singleton was cast as one of the microphone-clutching TV reporters chasing Forrest Gump as he ran across the Beaufort swing bridge during his cross-country run. But Singleton, it turns out, was a real reporter working at WJWJ-TV in Beaufort when he landed the small but prominent part in the movie. Singleton is another person with local connections to the film who was interviewed for the documentary.

Two actors will actually be attending the festival.

Gary Sinise, who played Lt. Dan, will receive the Pat Conroy Lifetime Achievement award on Saturday. Those who attend will get to hear more “Forrest Gump” stories in a moderated discussion with Sinise as he talks about his career and the Sinise Foundation, which supports America’s veterans, first responders and their families. On Friday night, Sinise’s Lt. Dan Band is scheduled to perform at the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.

And Dr. Marlena Smalls, a world-renown singer who played Bubba’s mother in the film, will perform with the Hallelujah Singers, which she formed in 1990 to promote Gullah Geechee heritage, on the opening night of the festival in a show called “Bubba’s Mama Sings the Blues.” Smalls also appears in the documentary.

The whole idea of the Gump documentary is to show the impact the movie had on Beaufort, its residents and tourism, Tucker says.

The bench scene in which Forrest speaks with multiple people waiting for a bus, by the way, was filmed in Savannah, not Beaufort. But the home of Bubba’s mother is located on Alston Road at the end of Sams Point Road on Lady’s Island. Catherine Scarborough, who owns it, is the opening interview in the documentary, Tucker says. Fun fact: In the film, says Tucker, dirt was sprayed on the house to make it look more dirty.

Pat Green, the original owner of The Chocolate Tree, the chocolate shop, also makes an appearance in the documentary. The Carteret Street fixture was a favorite of cast members, Tucker said.

More than 12,000 people from 36 states and 6 countries attended the festival in 2023 when 60 films were showcased during BIFF, which is consistently ranked in the top 100 of the Best Reviewed Film Festivals in the World, according to Carolina Film Alliance.

This year, 80 feature films from 40 countries were submitted for consideration, which is twice the normal number for that category, Tucker said. Six feature films were selected and will be judged during the festival. Documentaries and short films and entries in other categories also will be judged.

Tickets are available and organizers say the sales are brisk. “It may be the biggest the festival we’ve ever had as far as attendance goes,” Tucker said.

For more information

For tickets go to or information about the film schedule go to https://www.beaufortfilmfestival.com/tickets.