The 5th Annual Charleston International Film Festival (CIFF) presented by Charliewood Pictures, will kick off Opening Night on April 11 at the Sottile Theatre. A reception with Mayor Riley will begin the evening from 5-7 p.m., with Sundance Award winning film ‘Robot and Frank’ immediately following.

Films of all lengths and genres will be showcased from the Lowcountry and across the globe at Sottile Theatre and Cinebarre, including an outdoor screening under the stars. There is also a screenplay competition, nightly after-parties, and an awards gala.

This year, CIFF is working in cooperation with Mark Bryan and Carolina Studios to announce a “Stuff the Music Bus” art supply drive in support of Yo Art! Carolina Studios provides at-risk students with a creative outlet outside of the public school system by giving them the opportunity to write and record their own original compositions in their Charleston-based studio on wheels, allowing for a natural organic cooperation between the groups. Yo Art provides children living in public housing and attending Title One schools the opportunity to explore their aptitude in the arts by ensuring that they have access to the proper art supplies, and education to do so. The group is working in eight public schools that are predominately in low income districts and they are filling the gap where funding has diminished for art related education.

“Our programs expand on the arts by relating to global and local issues such as recycling, good nutritional habits and community service,” says Gene Furchgott, founder of Yo Art.

Local artist Douglas Panzone will also be on site painting a street mural live during the festival. In addition, the SC Film Commission presents the Young Filmmakers Project on Saturday April 14, at 11 a.m. at the Sottile Theatre. The Young Filmmakers Project gets kids out into state parks across S.C., learning creatively through media arts.

“The union between Yo Art, Carolina Studios, SC Film Commission and the Charleston International Film Festival is the perfect collaboration to expose at risk kids and teens to traditional art, music, and film and we are proud to be a part of it.” says Ron Krauskopf, Marketing Director for CIFF..

The Carolina Studios Bus will be parked outside of the theater each day during the festival, April 11-15, and will be available for people to tour and admire. It will be parked outside the theaters at these specific times: Sottile Theater: Wednesday & Friday 5-7PM, Saturday 11AM-7PM. Cinebarre: Thursday 5-7PM, and Sunday 11AM-5PM.

Get a glimpse of the bus at CarolinaStudios.net. Anyone leaving art supplies behind during their bus tour will receive a coupon for $5 admission to any CIFF film block throughout the festival. Please provide only newly-purchased art supplies.

Tickets for CIFF are available online at CharlestonIFF.com or by contacting the CIFF office at (843) 817- 1617. Price per screening block is $10.00, but special promotions and giveaways will be done through CIFF’s Facebook & Twitter pages. Festival passes are available good for access to all screenings, panels and parties (excluding the awards dinner) for $99.

For more information on Yo Art go to YoArtInc.org. For more information on Carolina Studios go to CarolinaStudios.net. For more information on the Young Filmmakers Project and SC Film Commission go to FilmSC.com. 

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Last week, Save the Light held a contract award ceremony to welcome Palmetto Gunite Construction to their new job conducting the design and construction of Phase II of the Morris Island Lighthouse preservation project. The plan is to place 70 “poured in place” micro piles beneath the lighthouse. The combined weight-bearing capability of these pilings will make the existing foundation redundant and, once and for all, eliminate the worry about ship worms damaging the original timber pilings. We expect that the work will be complete by the beginning of September. In eleven years, we will have raised the funds, designed and built the parts of our plan necessary to completely stabilize the foundation of the lighthouse. After the expenditure of some five million dollars, our coffers will be empty and we will need to fundraise in earnest again to begin the work of restoring the lantern room, repairing the stairs and painting the structure.

In “light” of this, Save the Light will be encouraging everyone to attend their 12th annual Save the Light Silent Auction and Gala on Thursday, April 29, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn. Tickets are $ 50 each and include food, wine, and the opportunity to bid on some spectacular auction items. To buy tickets or to donate an item, call Pat at (843) 633-0099. We are counting on you to make the next eleven years as successful as the previous ones.

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The 11th annual Save the Light Gala is coming up on Thursday, April 29, at the Holiday Inn and if you’ve ever been, you know that this event is an excellent opportunity to find some great bargains at the silent auction, as well as meet some really fine people and help the effort to save our beloved lighthouse.

Last year was the first time that the new Holiday Inn hosted the Gala and it was a smashing success. The food, the service and the facility were just right. And thanks in large part to the generosity of Jon and Lisa Weitz, we netted some $ 25,000 for Save the Light. All of these funds went directly into the Preservation Fund, awaiting the start of Phase II of the lighthouse’s restoration.

Over the next couple of months, please consider donating a special item to the silent auction. It is not too early to commit to a donation. Please call Pat or Brooke at the STL office at 633-0099 so that we can begin putting the program together. It’s our one big fundraiser of the year. Please help us make it the best ever.

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