The Nickelodeon Theater presents Local Cinema Studios’ The Grand Strand, an award-winning South Carolina-made film

The Nickelodeon Theater presents a special theatrical run of The Grand Strand, an award-winning independent film produced by Columbia-based nonprofit Local Cinema Studios (LCS). The film will screen January 15–29, celebrating South Carolina storytelling, community-driven filmmaking, and emerging regional voices.

Written and directed by Luke Lowder, The Grand Strand follows Levi, a young boy recently displaced from a farm in North Carolina, as he spends the summer before starting high school with his cousins at their family’s trailer in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Tender, intimate, and deeply rooted in place, the film captures a formative moment of youth against the backdrop of the South Carolina coast.

The film has garnered national and international recognition, including a Best Picture win at the Beverly Hills Film Festival and an Emerging Actor award for Wild Clemmons at the Richmond International Film Festival. Additional festival selections include the Manhattan Film Festival, Omaha Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, and Rome International Film Festival.

Lowder, a North Carolina native and graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, is known for telling realistic stories rooted in the American South. His work centers on honest portrayals of characters shaped by rural life and overlooked communities.

“I wrote this film in an effort to capture a snapshot of the people and places I grew up around,” said Lowder. “As a result, the film has a certain lived-in feel — a heart and soul. That’s partly because we filmed in the places I grew up in, but also because the community that Local Cinema Studios built around this project poured their hearts and souls into every frame.”

The Grand Strand was produced by Local Cinema Studios, a nonprofit led by University of South Carolina Professor Dustin Whitehead. LCS is dedicated to bridging the gap between academia and the film industry by providing students and emerging filmmakers with professional, hands-on on-set experience.

“Filmmaking is, at its core, about community,” said Whitehead. “The Grand Strand brought together students, professionals, and locals who believed in telling an honest Southern story—and that spirit is what defines Local Cinema Studios.”

Whitehead emphasized that LCS measures success not only by completed films, but by the opportunities created for cast and crew.

“We’ve always believed that process matters as much as product,” he said. “When people feel seen, supported, and inspired, the work speaks for itself—and The Grand Strand is proof of that.”

A friend of the director summarized the film’s impact simply: “This is a film for anyone who’s ever been young.”

The Nickelodeon Theatre’s run of The Grand Strand offers audiences a chance to experience a locally made film that reflects the people, places, and stories of the region, while supporting independent cinema and arts education in South Carolina.

Screening Dates: January 15–29 with a special opening night Q&A with the director on opening night – Thursday January 15th.
Location: The Nick, 1607 Main Street, Columbia, SC

For showtimes and tickets, visit https://nickelodeon.org/events/thegrandstrand/.

Local Cinema Studios (LCS) is a Columbia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization led by University of South Carolina Professor Dustin Whitehead. Together with a passionate community of filmmakers and mentors, LCS is dedicated to supporting independent filmmaking and hands-on education.

Serving the Midlands of South Carolina, The Nickelodeon seeks to build a stronger, more inclusive, and more equitable community through film presentations that both entertain and provoke critical dialogue. The Nick is South Carolina’s only nonprofit arthouse theater. Located in the heart of Columbia, it provides community members with the tools to gather, interpret and appreciate the moving image in all its variety through theatrical and educational programs.