Mike Tollin, the multitalented, award winning film and television director and producer will be presented the prestigious Jean Ribaut Award for Excellence in Filmmaking at the 7th Annual Beaufort International Film Festival taking place February 13 - 17, 2013 in Beaufort, SC.

Mr. Tollin has produced and directed more than a dozen feature films, several award-winning documentaries, and hundreds of hours of television, and currently has three prime-time television series in production. His films include Radio, Wild Hogs, Coach Carter, Dreamer, Hardball, Varsity Blues, Summer Catch, Big Fat Liar, along with the Tollin-directed documentary Hank Aaron: Chasing The Dream, which won a Peabody Award and was nominated for an Academy Award. Tollin directed and produced several other Award-winning documentaries, including Hardwood Dreams, Let Me Be Brave, and Right To Play, an upcoming ABC film about Johann Koss and his remarkable global organization which empowers impoverished children by giving them the chance to play.

In television, Tollin has won three Emmy Awards. He recently directed "Small Potatoes: Who Killed The USFL?" for ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary series and is a consulting producer on the Peabody Award-winning series. He served as Executive Producer of Smallville and One Tree Hill. Tollin also produced The Bronx is Burning, an eight-hour mini-series for ESPN about the 1977 Yankees. Tollin previously produced seven seasons of Arli$$ for HBO, ABC’s I’m With Her and The Days, What I Like About You for the WB, and several Nickelodeon series, including All That, Kenan & Kel, The Amanda Show, and Sports Theatre with Shaquille O'Neal.

Tollin is a founding Board member of Common Sense Media and Children Now, two groups that focus on kids and media, and the Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation, which awards scholarships to underprivileged youth.

This will be a return visit to the Lowcountry of South Carolina for Mr. Tollin. He directed the 2003 hit motion picture Radio, starring Ed Harris and Cuba Gooding Jr., shot mostly in the nearby town of Walterboro, SC. Much of the crew and extras cast were from the Charleston and Beaufort region.

The mission of the Beaufort International Film Festival is to enliven our community by fostering and developing a rich appreciation for the art of filmmaking. It is also an opportunity to showcase the beautiful "film-friendly" region of Beaufort and the Carolina Sea Islands. For the past quarter of a century Beaufort has served as the backdrop for more than 20 major motion pictures, to include Forrest Gump, The Big Chill, The Prince of Tides, and many more. Through this festival we hope to reintroduce our sweeping marsh vistas, antebellum homes, and quiet charm of the old south to a new generation of filmmakers.