Charleston International Film Festival
“I want the Charleston International Film Festival to be an experience…to be the reason people come to Charleston,” says festival co-founder and director 
Summer Peacher. Peacher, formerly of sunny California, and her husband Brian, a Charleston native, created the Charleston International Film Festival (CIFF) five years ago with the goal of making it “The Cannes of the South.”
The festival is celebrating five years of bringing exciting, independent films – shorts, features, documentaries and animated films – to Charleston. Seventy films from 10 countries will be shown, and13 of those are by SC filmmakers! They received 550 submissions this year, and a dedicated team of film professionals juried the best submissions into the CIFF’s lineup.
Attendance has grown so much they’ve expanded to a larger theatre this year. Films will be shown at the Sottile Theatre, in downtown Charleston, and Cinebarre, just over the river in Mount Pleasant. “We were having to turn people away at opening night last year,” says Peacher, “the Sottile’s larger capacity will allow us to accommodate more people and more VIP’s.”
New for 2012 will be the opening night kick off party at the Sottile Theatre, complete with a ribbon 
cutting by Charleston’s Mayor Joe Riley. The experience continues with the outdoor screening on Thursday at Cinebarre. The largest outdoor screen in the state will be set up, and the party starts early at 4 pm. Saturday night’s after-party at the Music Farm will have live music to dance the night away.
The Awards Gala on Sunday wraps up the festival, and for Peacher, it represents the culmination of the festival. “The moment where everyone stands… that moment of recognition for all the hard work,” means the world to her. And after five years as a juried film festival, Peacher’s next move is to apply to become an Academy Award Qualifying Film Festival for short films!
Charleston International Film Festival is five days of film screenings, workshops, industry networking, hip after-parties and more!
April 11 – 15, 2012
www.charlestoniff.com
More Film Festivals in South Carolina!
Indie Grits Festival
Nickelodeon Theatre, Columbia, SC
April 19 – 29
www.IndieGrits.com
Greenville International Film Festival
Greenville, SC
April 25 – 28
www.gviff.com
words: Stacy Huggins
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