Hollywood royalty returning to Beaufort 40 years after the filming of ‘The Big Chill’

Two behind-the-scenes film industry greats — who have worked on some of Hollywood’s biggest films, including “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” “Groundhog Day and “The Big Chill,” which was filmed in Beaufort — will receive the highest honor at this year’s Beaufort International Film Festival, which is expected to attract thousands of visitors to the city.

The 17th annual festival begins Tuesday, Feb. 21, and continues through Sunday, Feb. 26.

Screenings of 63 independent films and documentaries — including 58 that will compete for awards and recognition — will be shown from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the University of South Carolina Beaufort’s Performing Arts Center.

Tickets are available now at beaufortfilmfestival.com, The Greater Beaufort-Port Royal Convention & Visitors Bureau, 701 Craven St., and at the door. Ron Tucker, president and CEO of the Beaufort Film Society, which hosts the festival, recommends purchasing tickets ahead of time.

Last year, 17,000 tickets were sold, with the audience coming from 32 states and eight countries. Some 100 filmmakers also are expected to attend.

“They love the whole atmosphere,” Tucker says of the Beaufort International Film Festival’s appeal to filmmakers and film fans. “They love it that it’s not pretentious. It’s not haughty.”

Award-winning cinematographer John Bailey and film editor Carol Littleton — well-known for their work on several major motion pictures — will be in town to receive the Pat Conroy Lifetime Achievement award. It’s the highest honor given by the Beaufort Film Society.

Bailey and Littleton, who are married, both worked on 1983’s “The Big Chill” and their return comes on its 40th anniversary.

The small festival is known for its pleasant weather, southern charm and intimate setting — it has just one venue, the USCB performing arts center.

“They’re not necessarily used to people sitting on their porches and waving at you as you go by,” Tucker says of those who attend.

But it’s competitive, even if the atmosphere is congenial. Of 500 films submitted for consideration, from 40 countries, just the 58 films were accepted for judging and showing.

Audiences receive a sneak peek at the indie films and documentaries while writers and directors gain an audience before the work is sold.

“By winning an award, it actually adds to their resume and adds to the positivity of that particular film when they are pitching it to streaming services,” Tucker said.

Tucker, who started the film festival in 2007 with his wife, Rebecca, said positive reviews and word of mouth have helped build its reputation. Today, it’s ranked among the 100 best reviewed film festivals out of 7,000 worldwide.

Beaufort’s beautiful February weather and film bonafides — two dozen movies have been made in the area since 1999 — help the cause.

“The Big Chill,” directed by Lawrence Kasdan, featured an ensemble cast of rising stars including Glenn Close, William Hurt, Tom Berringer, Jeff Goldbloom, Kevin Kline and Meg Till.

They portrayed a group of 30-somethings who reunite for a funeral of a friend, 15 years after they attended the University of Michigan.

Returning to Beaufort

Working behind the scenes were Bailey, the cinematographer, and film editor Littleton. They’ve worked together on other films as well, including “Swimming to Cambodia,” “Silverado,” “China Moon,” “The Accidental Tourist” and “Country Strong.”

Bailey’s credits also include “American Gigolo,” “As Good as it Gets” and “Groundhog Day.” Littleton was nominated for an Oscar for her film editing work on “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” and her resume also includes “Body Heat” and the “Manchurian Candidate.”

They have not been back to Beaufort since 1983 when “The Big Chill” was made. About 90% of the film was shot at the Tidalholm mansion on Laurens Street, which is still known as “The Big Chill House.” Other scenes were filmed around the city, particularly Bay Street, Tucker said.

“They definitely wanted to come back to Beaufort,” Tucker said.

During their stay, the couple plans to visit Tidalholm and St. Helena Island’s Penn Center, the first school in the South for freed slaves, where Bailey attended Peace Corps training in 1967.

Bailey is past president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that gives out the Oscars, which will be presented this year on March 12. Littleton is on the board of governors.

The filming of “The Big Chill” in Beaufort and the upcoming Oscars could come up at a talk Littleton and Bailey are scheduled to give at 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24 at USCB called an “Afternoon With Hollywood Royalty.” The cost is $15.

Other film festival events that might be of particular interest locally include a special screening of “The Gift” at 3 p.m. Feb. 25. The documentary is about Medal of Honor recipient Cpl. Jason L. Dunham and the Marines of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines. Dunham died after he placed his body over a grenade shielding other Marines from the blast in Iraq in 2004. Dunham went to boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in Port Royal.

Tucker called the documentary the most emotional that he’s ever seen.

Documentary honors Marine’s memory

Director David C. Kniess Jr. will receive the Santini Patriot Spirit Award for the documentary. And 20 members of Dunham’s unit and the documentary production team are expected to attend the film festival, Tucker said. They plan to visit Parris Island during the trip.

“We have so many military heroes people don’t know anything about,” Tucker said. “Corporal Dunham is one of them.”

Kniess decided to do the documentary after reading about Dunham’s death and then recognizing him — he and Dunham had spoken when both men were on an airplane flight out of California in 2003.

The opening day matinee on Tuesday will be a feature film called “Stars Fell Again,” which also has a local connection. It is a sequel to “Stars Fell on Alabama,” a 2019 romantic comedy that was filmed in Beaufort.

And the director of Cheyenne River Youth Project’s 2022 short documentary film “Waniyetu Wowapi (Winter Count)” is Richard Steinberger of Beaufort. It’s focus is why art is central to the Lakota culture on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota,

A panel will judge the films and documentaries in several categories: feature film, documentary features, documentaries short, narrative short films (40 min or less), student films, animation films, screenplays, best actor, best actress, best director, best music score and best ensemble cast. Audience members get to judge, too, choosing the best comedy and “audience choice.”