The SCAD Film Festival, also known as the Savannah Film Festival, attracts many to this historic Southern city. This celebration of independent film-making is one of the largest in the Southeast and in the country. Those attending this wonderful event will enjoy an incredible selection of movies that range from two-minute shorts to feature-length films.
Silver Linings Playbook
In 2012, “Silver Linings Playbook,” a film that was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, was the first film shown at the SCAD film festival. It was released to theaters across the United States less than three weeks later. “Flight” was also shown here to fascinated film enthusiasts prior to its general release.
This festival in downtown Savannah was first held in 1998 and it has grown significantly since then to audiences of more than 40,000. In 2012, more than 30 films that ranged from student productions to professional movies were presented. They were sent in from countries that included Afghanistan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Argentina, and the United States. Stan Lee, John Goodman, and Matt Dillon took part in the festivities that year.
SCAD Film Festival
“12:15 Sunday” won the honor for Best SCAD Student Film Award in 2012, and “Fort McCoy” earned the nod for Best Narrative Feature for a professional production. Those staying with us at Southern Belle Vacation Rentals can stay conveniently close to the festival in Savannah or just 20 miles away on the beach at Tybee Island.
The Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) plays host to this event. It is a private institution that was established in 1978. It currently has campuses in Hong Kong, Atlanta, and Lacoste, France, as well. The university has restored buildings in beautiful downtown Savannah for use as college facilities. Its current Savannah campus consists of 67 buildings and many of those are located on the 21 Southern-Gothic squares that attract so many to the area.
The SCAD Film Festival lasts eight days and is the city’s premier event in the fall. The beautiful historic facilities that screen movies include the Trustees Theater and the Lucas Theater for the Arts. The Trustees Theater opened in 1946 and had one of the largest movie screens in the South at the time of its opening. SCAD acquired this building in 1989 and reopened it later that year after it had been briefly abandoned. The Lucas Theater for the Arts opened in 1921. It is also owned by the SCAD.