The Filmmakers Have the Last Word on Why BIFF is Buff

Days after the curtain falls on the 2011 edition of the Beaufort International Film Festival the buzz still hangs in the air, crackling like some unseen static charge.  The energy is palpable. The conversation is ongoing in the bars and restaurants and cafes. The filmmakers are gone, audiences dispersed, all evidence of the after-party is long since wiped away. For festival organizers/show-runners, Ron Tucker and Rebecca Berry, the eighteen-hour days and late night suppers at Huddle House are finally over – until next year.

A locally produced documentary makes the BIFF finals while redefining the Lowcountry’s archeological record

On paper, Mike Hudson and Gibbes McDowell are an odd pairing. McDowell is an expert guide and outdoorsman while Hudson spends a good bit of his time blowing things up as a Special Effects Coordinator for film and television, with a resume that includes both Forrest Gump and the current Army Wives. About six years ago, the two discovered a mutual interest in history and archaeology when McDowell told Hudson about evidence of ancient Native Americans he’d discovered at his fish camp near Hunting Island.