BEAUFORT, S.C. - nvtip -- The curtain closed on the 14th Annual Beaufort International Film Festival Sunday evening as Oscar, BAFTA, and Emmy Winning Sound Designer/Editor Eugene Gearty was  awarded the Pat Conroy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Marine Corps Veteran and Filmmaker Joshua DeFour was presented the Santini Patriot Spirit Award for his Short Film, the 11th Order.

South Carolina based Filmmaker John Reynolds was presented the prestigious Behind The Scenes Award.

Filmmakers, film lovers and fans of the festival showed up to experience some or all of the six-day film festival. N

Nearly 400 entries were received from over  40 countries, the competition was  narrowed down to the screening of 53 films and seven screenplays. A new attendance record was set with 17,400 seats filled over four days of film screenings, workshops, parties and more.  The average attendance per screening was also a record at 412.    Awards were presented in 13 different categories.

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Beaufort Film Society Volunteer of the Year:  Jenny Steadham, Beaufort, SC

Best Feature: From The Vine, directed by Sean Cisterna, Ontario, CANADA

Best Documentary (Feature): My Father's Brothers, directed by Shawn Kelley, Charlotte, NC

Best Documentary ( Short): Waterproof, directed by Ross Kauffman, South Hampton, NY

Best Short Film: Miner's Mountain, directed by Bennett Pellington, Wilmington, NC

Best Student Film: A Lonely Death, directed by Matt Suppes, Orange, CA (Dodge College, Chapman University

Best Comedy: Notice, directed by Phyllis Jackson, Atlanta, GA

Best Animation: Misguided, directed by Sean Kim, Orlando, FL

Best Screenplay: Away With My Heart, written by Hoyt Richards and Lawrence Nelson II, Los Angeles, CA

Best Actress: Suzan Anbeh, Berlin, Germany (Effigy: Poison in the City)

Best Actor: Tim Realbuto, New York, NY  ( Yes)

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Best Director: Sean Cisterna,  Ontario, CANADA  (From the Vine)

Audience Choice: My Father's Brothers, Director Shawn Kelley, Charlotte, NC (Documentary Feature)

Susan A. K. Shaffer Humanitarian Award: Flint: The Poisoning of An American City, directed by David Barnhart

The Beaufort International Film Festival is produced by the Beaufort Film Society. For more information, visit http://www.beaufortfilmfestival.com

The Beaufort Film Society is a nonprofit, 501 (c) 3, member-supported organization dedicated to providing the highest levels of entertainment and education to the public from all areas of the film industry.