‘World-class’ Sidewalk Film Festival returns to Birmingham
The Sidewalk Film Festival, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, returned to downtown Birmingham last night and runs through Sunday, Aug. 27 with about 300 films, including features, documentaries, shorts and animation.
The event, which typically draws about 15,000 movie lovers to the Theatre District, will be held at the Sidewalk Film Center + Cinema and various venues downtown, including the Alabama Theatre and the Lyric Theatre.
Sidewalk will screen four full-length films made by Birmingham filmmakers and producers —the narrative feature “Don’t Die,” as well as three documentaries, “Shuttlesworth,” “Restoration: The Life and Stories of the Lyric Theatre” and “Jasper Mall.”
There will also be several programs featuring short films made in Alabama, both narratives and documentaries.
Sidewalk has consistently drawn positive national media attention to Birmingham.
In 2022, L.A.-based MovieMaker Magazine called Sidewalk a “delightfully film-mad festival” and named the event one of “20 Great Film Festivals for First Time Filmmakers.”
This summer, MovieMaker included Sidewalk on its 2023 list of “The 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World.”
Filmmaker Ondi Timoner, who has won several Sidewalk prizes, told MovieMaker that Sidewalk has become “a world-class festival” and has “more energy and spunk” than any other regional festival she’s attended .
Make sure to check out the official festival schedule for all the films, including the closing night film, “It’s Only Life, After All,” on Sunday, Aug 27.
For tickets, passes and other information, call 205-324-0888 or go to sidewalkfest.com.
