As Savannah welcomes the Film Festival back for another round of notable honorees, outstanding films and thrilling events, South magazine will be bringing you the highlights and the behind-the-scenes scoop. Follow us on the web site, Facebook and Twitter as we give you exclusive interviews and photos!

This year there are numerous guests of honor attending the festival. Here’s a rundown of who’s coming and where you can see them and their work.

Gypsy Gourmet, an underground restaurant/catering/guestaurant/supper club concept, is the brainchild of Chef Christopher Storey. This new venture made its debut last night at mixologist and Foodie2shoes blogger Wendy Williby’s home and intimate courtyard. Williby got a little wine pairing help courtesy of FORM’s co-owner Claude Auerbach. These service industry mavens worked together to create an amazing al fresco dining experience, but the setting was upstaged by the magnificent food and presentation prepared on-site by Storey.

Local videographer and creator of Silverline Productions, Chris Helton, is making his and many other Savannahian’s cinematic dreams come true by filming Patty Paper: The Missing Dog Caper in downtown Savannah. Helton’s project is one of a handful of film projects that will be taking place here in the coming months.

Experience genuine Savannah flavor in an 1850’s King Cotton Warehouse at River House. Sit riverside and enjoy local seafood rated “A” by the Savannah Morning News (its highest rating!), while watching local and merchant ships sail by. River House uses only the best local seafood available, helping to create some of the finest signature items you’ll find in Savannah. Grouper Florentine or Shrimp and Low-Country Grits with Tasso Gravy are just a few of the dishes we’re proud to offer. We also have the best Low Country Boil in Savannah!

May the best man or woman win.

That’s the new chorus coming from the third floor of 133 Montgomery Street yesterday where Superior Court Judge Penny Haas Freesemann reversed an earlier judgment and reinstated alderman candidate Ruel Joyner back into the District 1 race.

Even John Berendt himself couldn’t have written a Savannah script as sublime as last Saturday morning at Clary’s.

The sun, lately as forgotten as the dimmest star on the brightest night, radiated with a soft citrine shade. It was an old friend that had been gone too long. A mild breeze, evocative of college football and fall foliage, kept things light and cheery. Spanish moss hung precariously from nearby street-lined oaks, its shades of grey forming a protective lattice overhead.

Savannah is a place rife with both permanence and impermanence, from its ageless live oaks to its youthful creative minds..

So it’s perhaps fitting that a similar juxtaposition between concerns of time, place and home is at the heart of a recent residency challenge for Savannah’s District 1 City Council seat.

In a hearing and ruling last Friday, Clerk of City Council Dyanne Reese (she’s the de jure supervisor of city elections) disqualified candidate Ruel Joyner from the District 1 election, responding to a recent challenge from West Savannah citizen Kenneth Dunham. The challenge argued that Joyner’s loft above 24e, a furniture boutique on East Broughton Street, was not in fact his primary residence. Joyner is looking to unseat Van Johnson for the District 1 Council position he has held since 2004.

Just 30 days away from elections, months after launching his campaign, a hearing was held on Septemeber 29 to determine whether Ruel Joyner, candidate for District 1 Alderman for the city of Savannah, met residency qualifications. The result of the challenge, brought by Kenneth Dunham, came late Friday and was not what Joyner was hoping for.

The decision found Joyner ineligible to run based on the fact that he owns a single-family residence on Oatland Island and belief that he hasn’t lived at the Broughton Street address listed on his voter registration, driver’s license and other official documents that Joyner used to originally enter into candidacy for a sufficient amount of time.

Over 30 restaurants, 500 guests and one mechanical bull helped make DineSouth 2011 the greatest food event in Savannah to date. Famous foodie Jamie Deen and his family hosted the party, while a pack of farm animals, provided by The Hunter Cattle Co., helped partygoers get in the mood for a true Southern soiree. The event was also the release of South’s Food and Famous Folks Issue, which covers some of the most interesting people and culinary artists in the city. Make sure to grab your copy on newsstands now!

As part of the event, all the vendors competed against each other in three different categories and here are the official results:

Janet finished an impromptu interview, and walked back to her friends a few feet away. Her smile as luminous as a full moon, she joined her colleagues as they huddled en masse near what looked to be stack of boxes.

Like a rugby team readying for a scrum, the foursome crouched slightly and each put his or her arms on one other’s shoulders.

The countdown began.

“Four … three … two … one …”