Sidewalk Film Festival announced the complete film lineup of official selections for the 22nd edition of the Birmingham-based film festival which will take place August 24-30. All 163 films (41 features, 122 shorts) and 23 music videos, will be screened at The Grand River Drive-In at The Backyard in Leeds.
Sidewalk will open on Monday, August 24 with an Opening Night Extravaganza. The evening will include; Aurélia Rouvier and Seamus Haley’s BANKSY MOST WANTED, about the artist behind the famous art stunts; a special preview screening of Giuseppe Capotondi’s THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY, which stars Elizabeth Debicki, Mick Jagger, Donald Sutherland, and Claes Bang in an exciting art heist story, and critically-acclaimed indie director Kelly Reichardt’s latest film, FIRST COW, about a cook and a Chinese immigrant who join forces to start a business in Oregon. The extravaganza will also include a “back to the 80’s” double feature of TEEN WOLF (1985) with Michael J. Fox, and TEEN WITCH (1989) with Robyn Lively.
Award-winners on the schedule include Alice Gu’s THE DONUT KING, about a Cambodian entrepreneur’s rags to riches story, which won a Special Jury Prize at this year’s cancelled SXSW, as well as the “One in a Million” Prize at the Sun Valley FF, and David Midell’s harrowing true-life drama THE KILLING OF KENNETH CHAMBERLAIN about the killing of anan elderly African American veteran with bipolar disorder by police doing a wellness check. The film was a Best Picture winner at the Oxford Film Festival.
Additional anticipated titles include; celebrated documentary director Ondi Timoner’s latest, COMING CLEAN, which examines America’s opioid crisis through the eyes of recovering addicts and political leaders on the frontlines; Kate McLean and Mario Furloni’s drama FREELAND, starring indie-sensation Krisha Fairchild as an aging pot farmer facing what could be her final harvest; and Amy Seimetz’ SHE DIES TOMORROW, where a woman’s conviction that she will die tomorrow spreads like a contagion through a town.
Sidewalk Film Festival Creative Director and Lead Programmer, Rachel Morgan, said, “While we would much prefer to be running from film to film in unique and beautiful spaces in downtown Birmingham this late August, I’m super proud and excited that we’ve moved to a drive-in festival despite the many challenges brought about by the current era. We strongly believe that great films are meant to be experienced communally – on a big screen with big sound and, while the festival will certainly be different this year, we are ecstatic to still bring a little of the magic of Sidewalk to late summer. I can’t wait to watch so many of the year’s best films under the stars, surrounded by fellow film lovers. Party on (safely).”
SHOUT selections include; Brandon Colvin’s A DIM VALLEY, about a curmudgeonly biologist and his slacker graduate assistants whose encounter with a trio of mystical backpackers change their lives in mysterious ways; Pablo Larrain’s Chilian drama EMA, about a couple dealing with the aftermath of an adoption gone awry; and Sharon Liese’s documentary TRANSHOOD, which follows four kids – beginning at ages 4, 7, 12, and 15 – as they grow up transgender in the heartland.
Other highlights will include the 30th Anniversary screening of Jennie Livingston’s landmark documentary of New York City’s African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene in the 80’s, PARIS IS BURNING; EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE: DOGGIEWOGGIEZ POOCHIEWOOCHIEZ, which features unusual, dated, and campy clips of VHS tapes as part of a crazy evening with will include a couple of surprise guests; and a special Sing-Along version of YELLOW SUBMARINE (SING-ALONG VERSION) so mom and dad and the kids can take a trip to Pepperland with the Beatles singing with The Fab Four. For the 8th year in a row Sidewalk programmers have compiled an awesome selection of 1980’s and 90’s cartoons and vintage commercials for the SATURDAY MORNING NIGHT CARTOONS presentation. The one key update is that this year will be a BYOC (Bring Your Own Cereal) affair.
2020 Sidewalk Film Festival official Selections
Opening Night Extravaganza
BANKSY MOST WANTED
Directors: Aurélia Rouvier, Seamus Haley
Country: USA, Running Time: 90 min
Banksy is a household name, but behind this name hides a multitude of stories, artworks, stunts, political statements and identities, leading to one of the art world’s biggest unanswered questions- who is Banksy?
THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY
Director: Giuseppe Capotondi
Country: USA, Running Time: 100 min
Hired to steal a rare painting from one of the most enigmatic painters of all time, an ambitious art dealer becomes consumed by his own greed and insecurity as the operation spins out of control. Starring Elizabeth Debicki, Mick Jagger, Donald Sutherland, and Claes Bang.
FIRST COW
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Country: USA, Running Time: 122 min
A skilled cook has traveled west and joined a group of fur trappers in Oregon, though he only fins true connection with a Chinese immigrant also seeking his fortune. Soon the two collaborate on a successful business.
TEEN WOLF (1985)
Director: Rod Daniel
Country: USA, Running Time: 91 min
An ordinary high school student discovers that his family has an unusual pedigree when he finds himself turning into a werewolf.
TEEN WITCH (1989)
Director: Dorian Walker
Country: USA, Running Time: 90 min
High school misfit Louise, at a loss for romance, discovers magical abilities, but if the teenage witch finds she cannot conjure herself true love, then so what?
Shout
A DIM VALLEY
Director: Brandon Colvin
Country: USA, Running Time: 92 min
A curmudgeonly biologist and his slacker graduate assistants muddle their way through a summer research project. Deep in the Appalachian woods, they encounter a trio of mystical backpackers who change their lives in mysterious ways.
EMA
Director: Pablo Larrain
Country: Chile, Running Time: 107 min
A couple deals with the aftermath of an adoption that goes awry as their house falls apart.
TRANSHOOD
Director: Sharon Liese
Country: USA, Running Time: 96 min
Filmed over five years in Kansas City, TRANSHOOD follows four kids – beginning at ages 4, 7, 12, and 15 – as they redefine “coming of age.” These kids and their families reveal intimate realities of how gender is re-shaping the family next door in a never-before-told chronicling of growing up transgender in the heartland.
Alabama
JASPER MALL
Directors: Bradford Thomason, Brett Whitcomb
Country: USA, Running Time: 85 min
A year in the life of a dying shopping mall in Jasper, Alabama.
THE IMMORTAL JELLYFISH
Director: Dusty Bias
Country: USA, Running Time: 106 min
THE IMMORTAL JELLYFISH is a dark comedy about an off-the-grid oddball who calls a nurse hotline for help with his nasty “fire piss” problem. When a dying man washes ashore near Denny’s trailer, Denny and nurse Linda get caught up in the drama and become madcap partners in crime-solving.
Black Lens
AFTER SELMA
Director: Loki Mulholland
Country: USA, Running Time: 46 min
In 1965, 600 brave citizens marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge for the right to vote. Since that iconic moment, and the passage of the Voting Rights Act, a concerted campaign to suppress voting rights in America has continued.
Screens with
FINDING THE CORNERSTONE: THE WALLACE A. RAYFIELD STORY
Director: Dwight Cameron
Country: USA, Running Time: 58 min
This film tells the story of two men, separated by race, education and time, but united by happenstance.
THE KILLING OF KENNETH CHAMBERLAIN
Director: David Midell
Country: USA, Running Time: 86 min
Based on the true story of the events that led to the death of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., an elderly African American veteran with bipolar disorder, who was killed during a conflict with police officers who were dispatched to check on him. Proceeds for this film will go to Social Responsibility Unit Chamberlain Jr. created under the Urban League of Westchester.
TRUTH TO POWER: BARBARA LEE SPEAKS FOR ME
Director: Abby Ginzberg
Country: USA, Running Time: 82 min
Film tells the complex story of Representative Barbara Lee, a steadfast voice for human rights, peace and equality in the U.S. Congress who cut her teeth as a volunteer for the Black Panther Party and was the lone voice in opposition to the broad authorization of military force after the September 11th attacks.
Preceded by
EDWIN
Director: Ya’Ke
Country: USA, Running Time: 8:45 min
Edwin Debrow Jr. murdered a cab driver when he was 12. He was sentenced to forty years in prison. Today he’s walking out.
Life & Liberty
COMING CLEAN
Director: Ondi Timoner
Country: USA, Running Time: 105 min
America’s opioid crisis is examined through the eyes of recovering addicts and political leaders on the frontlines. These unlikely allies emerge from the darkness to face their pain, bring the profiteers to justice and rebuild in the wake of the deadliest drug epidemic in our history.
THE DONUT KING
Director: Alice Gu
Country: USA, Running Time: 90 min
This documentary tells Ted Ngoy’s story that is one of fate, love, survival, hard knocks, and redemption.
FEELS GOOD MAN
Director: Arthur Jones
Country: USA, Running Time: 90 min
When indie comic character “Pepe the Frog” becomes an unwitting icon of hate, his creator, cartoonist Matt Furie, fights to bring Pepe back from the darkness. FEELS GOOD MAN is a parable about one man’s fight to retake his creation from the grips of evil and America’s struggle to confront its deep cultural divide.
MIRACLE FISHING
Directors: Miles Hargrove, Christopher Burge
Country: USA, Running Time:
The story of a father’s kidnapping as told through the 1994 video diaries of his son, the film’s director Miles Hargrove.
MONEY MACHINE
Director: Ramsey Denison
Country: USA, Running Time: 74 min
Every year, millions lose billions in Vegas, but after Stephen Paddock opens fire on a crowd of 22,000 and kills 58 people, the town’s image as a safe adult playground is put in jeopardy. With billions on the line, the corporations that run Vegas use their power to get America’s mind off the shooting, leaving the victims feeling forgotten. MONEY MACHINE expose a rigged game of corrupt policing and corporate cover-ups and shows how the deadliest mass shooting in US history became one of the most forgotten.
Family Fest
YELLOW SUBMARINE (SING-ALONG VERSION)
Director: George Dunning
Country: UK; Runtime: 85 min
The Beatles agree to accompany Captain Fred in his yellow submarine and go to Pepperland to free it from the music-hating Blue Meanies. In total, Yellow Submarine took nearly two years to complete, with 14 different scripts, 40 animators, and more than 140 technical artists. Most famous as Yellow Submarine’s villains, the Blue Meanies also once made an appearance in an episode of “South Park” called “Imaginationland.” In the film, The Beatles can be heard singing a bit of “Think For Yourself” a cappella, sourced from a studio session tape. That same tape was used on Paul’s Liverpool Sound Collage album in 2000. Among the many artists and musicians who were inspired by Yellow Submarine’s animation was a young David Bowie.
Additional Feature Films
BARBERSHOP (2002)
Director: Tim Story
Country: USA, Running Time: 102 min
Calvin Palmer Jr. (Ice Cube) decides he has had enough of trying to keep open the Chicago barbershop his father handed down to him. He cannot borrow, revenues are falling, and he seems more interested in get-rich-quick schemes to bring in easy money. Without telling his employees or customers, he sells the barbershop to a greedy loan shark, Lester Wallace (Keith David), who secretly plans to turn it into a strip club.
BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS
Directors: Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross
Country: USA, Running Time: 98 min
A look at the final moments of a Las Vegas dive bar called “The Roaring 20s”.
CANDYMAN (1992)
Director: Bernard Rose
Country: USA, Running Time: 99 min
Skeptical graduate student Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) befriends Anne-Marie McCoy (Vanessa Williams) while researching superstitions in a housing project on Chicago’s Near North Side. From Anne-Marie, Helen learns about the Candyman (Tony Todd), a hook-wielding figure of urban legend that some of her neighbors believe to be responsible for a recent murder. After a mysterious man matching the Candyman’s description begins stalking her, Helen comes to fear that the legend may be all too real.
CENTIGRADE
Director: Brendan Walsh
Country: USA, Running Time: 98 min
Based on an actual incident, a married couple find themselves trapped in their frozen vehicle after a blizzard and struggle to survive amid lunging temperatures and unforeseen obstacles.
DAZED AND CONFUSED (1993)
Director: Richard Linklater
Country: USA, Running Time: 102 min
America, 1976. The last day of school. Bongs blaze, bell-bottoms ring, and rock and roll rocks. Richard Linklater’s DAZED AND CONFUSED eavesdrops on a group of seniors-to-be and incoming freshmen. A launching pad for a number of future stars, Linklater’s first studio effort also features endlessly quotable dialogue and a blasting, stadium-ready soundtrack. Sidestepping nostalgia, DAZED AND CONFUSED is less about “the best years of our lives” than the boredom, angst, and excitement of teenagers waiting . . . for something to happen.
DONNIE DARKO (2001)
Director: Richard Kelly
Country: USA, Running Time: 112 min
During the presidential election of 1988, a teenager named Donnie Darko sleepwalks out of his house one night and sees a giant, demonic-looking rabbit named Frank, who tells him the world will end in 28 days. When Donnie returns home, he finds that a jet engine has crashed into his bedroom. Is Donnie living in a parallel universe, is he suffering from mental illness – or will the world really end?
DRIVE (2011)
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Country: USA, Running Time: 100 min
Driver (Ryan Gosling) is a skilled Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver for criminals. Though he projects an icy exterior, lately he’s been warming up to a pretty neighbor named Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her young son, Benicio (Kaden Leos). When Irene’s husband gets out of jail, he enlists Driver’s help in a million-dollar heist. The job goes horribly wrong, and Driver must risk his life to protect Irene and Benicio from the vengeful masterminds behind the robbery.
DRIVE-IN MASSACRE (1976)
Director: Stu Segall
Country: USA, Running Time: 74 min
It’s a hot summer night in Southern California, and the local drive-in is packed with patrons. When a sword-wielding psycho begins carving up customers, it gleefully unspools a grubby cavalcade of creepy carnies, peeping perverts, graphic decapitations and an ending you have to see/hear to believe. John F. Goff (THE FOG), Bruce Kimball (LOVE CAMP 7) and co-writer George ‘Buck’ Flower (BACK TO THE FUTURE) star in this nasty slab of ‘70s sleaze.
EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE: DOGGIEWOGGIEZ POOCHIEWOOCHIEZ
Director: Various
Country: USA, Running Time: 80 min
From the folks that brought you the largest collection of JERRY MAGUIRE on VHS… EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE features unusual, dated, and campy clips of VHS tapes from the late 20th century and early 21st century.
FREELAND
Directors: Kate McLean, Mario Furloni
Country: USA, Running Time: 80 min
Fighting against the threat of eviction, as the impact of the legalization of the cannabis industry rapidly destroys her idyllic way of life, an aging pot farmer suddenly finds her world shattered as she races to bring in what could be her final harvest. Cast: Krisha Fairchild, Lily Gladstone, Frank Mosley
GIANTS BEING LONELY
Director: Grear Patterson
Country: USA, Running Time: 81 min
Two players on a successful high school baseball team, the Giants, come of age in the American South. Beautiful, strange, and timeless to the point of feeling ephemeral, GIANTS BEING LONELY perfectly captures teenage alienation and the often youthfully misguided desperation to connect in a world that seems both simultaneously huge and small.
HALLOWEEN (1978)
Director: John Carpenter
Country: USA, Running Time: 91 min
On Halloween night in 1963, six-year-old Michael Myers brutally murdered his 17-year-old sister, Judith. He was sentenced and locked away for 15 years. But on October 30, 1978, while being transferred for a court date, a 21-year-old Michael Myers steals a car and escapes Smith’s Grove. He returns to his quiet hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, where he looks for his next victims.
HARLEY
Director: Jean-Cosme Delaloye
Country: USA, Running Time: 70 min
Harley is a successful, long-haired, bowtie-wearing, Ferrari-driving criminal defense attorney in a gang-infested New Jersey neighborhood. In an effort for self-betterment and with hopes of winning over the woman of his dreams (a bodybuilding model, 20 years his junior who he met online), Harley embarks on an ambitious quest. Inspired by his childhood hero Rocky Balboa, he decides to fight in an underground mixed martial arts fight in Brazil.
HEROES
Director: Manish Pandey
Country: USA, Running Time: 111 min
HEROES tells the story of five legends of motorsport, whose lives are intimately intertwined and interconnected as they all scale the heights of their sport, while contending with profound personal challenges along the way.
Preceded by
FIVE FOOT 280
Directors: Joshua Harding, Matt Klug
Country: USA, Running Time: 4:44 min
Documentary short puts you in the head of professional drag racer Jasmine Salinas – a quiet, introvert who comes from a family of badass racers. She takes us through her adrenaline-filled world of driving a 3,500 horsepower car while describing the challenges of being a female in a male-dominated sport.
NIGHT OF THE COMET (1984)
Director: Thom Eberhardt
Country: USA, Running Time: 95 min
A comet wipes out most of life on Earth, leaving two Valley Girls fighting against cannibal zombies and a sinister group of scientists.
PARIS IS BURNING (1990)
Director: Jennie Livingston
Country: USA, Running Time: 71 min
This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City’s African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, Paris Is Burning offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion “houses,” from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women—including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza—Paris Is Burning brings it, celebrating the joy of movement, the force of eloquence, and the draw of community.
ROAD HOUSE (1989)
Director: Rowdy Herrington
Country: USA, Running Time: 114 min
Dalton (Patrick Swayze) is a true gentleman with a degree in philosophy from NYU. He also has a flip side – he’s the best darn bar bouncer in the business. When Dalton’s brought in to clean up the Double Deuce, a popular establishment that become particularly rowdy, his calm is put to the test by the town bully.
ROAR (1981)
Director: Noel Marshall
Country: USA, Running Time: 102 min
No animals were harmed in the making of this movie, 70 members of the cast and crew were. Wildlife preservationist, Hank, lives harmoniously alongside a menagerie of over 100 untamed animals on a preservation in the African plains. When his wife and children arrive for a visit, a long-brewing battle for dominance between the lions erupts and threatens their very lives.
SHE DIES TOMORROW
Director: Amy Seimetz
Country: USA, Running Time: 84 min
A woman’s conviction that she will die tomorrow spreads like a contagion through a town.
SUZI Q
Director: Liam Firmager
Country: USA, Running Time: 98 min
Film tells the story of the trailblazing American rock singer-songwriter Suzi Quatro, who helped redefine the role of women in rock n’ roll when she broke out in 1973.
8TH ANNUAL SATURDAY MORNING NIGHT CARTOONS
Director: Various
Country: USA, Running Time: 90 min
For the 8th year in a row Sidewalk programmers have compiled an awesome selection of 1980’s and 90’s cartoons and vintage commercials. So this year is a little different… but, we still believe in tradition and sugar cereal and party. So limit the cereal bar to your car, flip the schedule and join us for the drive-in edition of Saturday Morning Night Cartoons. There are still likely to be many festive surprises! Party on.
SHORTS PROGRAMS
Narrative Shorts #1
TRT: 129 min
AFFLICTION
Director. Christina Raia
Country: USA, Running Time: 6 min
Two coworkers contemplate the aftermath of an encounter.
AFTER THE SHOW
Directors. Joel Fendelman, Sandra Bertalanffy
Country: USA, Running Time: 8 min
A digital docu-fiction series about performers and what happens after the show.
AMERICAN DREAM
Directors. Nicolas Polixene, Sylvain Loubet dit Gajol
Country: France, Running Time: 19 min
Frustrated by the lack of opportunities for black people in France, Mickael has been living in the United States for the past 5 years. Proud of his success, he invites his little brother to Chicago to convince him to try his luck here.
EVIE’S ELEMENTS
Director:. Mike Hayhurst
Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min
Evie’s You Tube channel has great tips for any (evil) stepmom. Tune in for her special cocktail recipe!
HIS & HERZOG
Director. Gates Bradley
Country: USA, Running Time: 12 min
They say the key to any lasting relationship is communication, but what do you do when your spouse speaks only in the voice of eccentric German filmmaker Werner Herzog?
KARAOKE MACHINE IN 1991
Director. Paw Paw Charles
Country: USA, Running Time: 2:30 min
A karaoke machine on December 23, 1991.
LAKE OF HAPPINESS
Director. Aliaksei Paluyan
Countries: Germany/Belarus/Spain, Running Time: 29 min
In a small Belarusian village where time seems to stand still, Jasja, a 9-year-old girl, has to deal with her mother‘s death. Her father decides to send her to an orphanage, but one day she runs away to go back home.
MASTER MAGGIE
Director. Matthew Bonifacio
Country: USA, Running Time: 22 min
A celebrity acting coach is interrupted by an unknown actor begging for her help for a TV audition.
POWER
Director. Chris Foito
Country: USA, Running Time: 12 min
A mother tries to reconnect with her son across memories, missed calls, modern distractions, and the distance of neglected relationships.
PUBLIC LOT
Director. Chris Beier
Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min
A man witnesses something he shouldn’t.
THE PURSUIT
Director. Sam Thigpen
Country: USA, Running Time: 1:30 min
A young man about to go on a date is in pursuit of his keys he accidentally locked in his house.
QUEEN
Director. Lily Siegel
Country: USA, Running Time: 2:30 min
Where’s the knife?
THE SUMMER I CAME OF AGE
Director. Fletcher Ash
Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min
A young man goes on a quest to finally blossom on the last day of summer.
Narrative Shorts #2
TRT: 96 min
CROCODILE
Director. Jorge Yudice
Country: Spain, Running Time: 5 min
Like every afternoon, Alicia prepares a cup of tea and watches her favorite You Tube channel: VictorGaming. This time, however, Alicia has something to say to Victor.
DOODLE
Dir. A.F. Madison
Country: USA, Running Time: 23 min
After finding a red pencil stuck into an old oak tree, Margo returns home to her everyday life of drawing. Mysterious events begin to unfold and Margo must confront the reality of what has transpired.
EVERYTHING’S FINE
Director. Danny Rhodes
Country: USA, Running Time: 12:30 min
A new mother suffering from postpartum OCD is plagued by intrusive thoughts and vivid images of harming her baby.
THE PRIEST
Director. Michael Vukadinovich
Country: USA, Running Time: 17 min
In a lonely desert town a suicidal priest (Patton Oswalt) makes a decision that kicks into motion a series of strange events leading him to an unexpected discovery.
REQUIEM
Director. Melanie Jeffcoat
Country: USA, Running Time: 7 min
A mother and her daughter grapple with the consequences of abuse and codependency.
THE SHAKES
Director. Caleb Butler
Country: USA, Running Time: 8 min
After the loss of her husband, an older woman learns to adapt to life on her own.
THE SHILLELAGHIAN
Director. Whitney Hamilton
Country: USA, Running Time: 13:30 min
A comedic political take on Martin Scorsese’s THE IRISHMAN.
STRING OF DEATHS
Director. Jeremiah Fanning
Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min
A group of friends scour a house to find a murderer.
YOU LOOK LIKE A FLOWER
Directors. Blake Hudson, Liz Dial
Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min
Things get awkward when two members of a video interview recognize each other from years past.
Narrative Shorts #3
TRT: 121 min
A BURNT REMEDY
Director: Alex Pitts
Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min
A young woman experiences remorse about shoplifting.
A CAT’S LAMENT: A FELINE’S PERSPECTIVE ON COVID-19
Director: Miriam Anderson
Country: USA, Running Time: 6 min
A disgruntled cat expresses their consternation about the lack of quarantine scritches.
BOO
Director: Jack Roussos
Country: USA, Running Time: 6 min
High school friends gather around for a ghost story they won’t soon forget.
BREAK OUT
Director: Garon Bailey
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:30 min
A man risks going outside during quarantine. Sidewalk Quarantine Scramble – Audience Winner
DETECTIVE OLIVER
Director: Shelby Billman
Country: USA, Running Time: 11:30 min
Ten-year old amateur sleuth Detective Oliver is asked to help one of his classmates find a missing bracelet.
DREAM NAILS
Director: Katja Straub
Country: USA, Running Time: 10 min
When Cindy reaches the haven of her local nail salon and experiences hostility and negativity, she decides to fight it with the magic of dance.
ELYSE QUINN – QUARANTINE VLOG
Director: Elyse Quinn
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:30 min
Birmingham area teen discusses how her life has changed since the pandemic.
HANDHELD
Directors: Pisie Hochheim, Tony Oswald
Country: USA, Running Time: 11:30 min
An old handheld camera disrupts the chaotic bedtime routine of a single mother and her young son.
LUNAR POWERS
Director: Christien Washington
Country: USA, Running Time: 13 min
Two astronauts crash land on the moon during a mission to Mars, but they must return to earth and save their planet from the evil King Hatterel.
PANDEMIC
Director: Maya Mackey
Country: USA, Running Time: 5:30 min
An experimental view of how the COVID-19 pandemic affects Alabama teens.
PASSENGER
Director: Cal Thacher
Country: USA, Running Time: 8 min
A hitchhiker brings up dark memories for a driver.
PAYBACK
Director: Bailey Corley
Country: USA, Running Time: 6 min
Max pays back his sister for posting a baby photo of him online.
RESPECTABLE FISH
Director: Michael W. Gordon
Country: USA, Running Time: 3 min
A parable about how you never know what someone – or some fish – is going through.
SAUL
Director: Sarah Beth Huntley
Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min
A man struggling with his mental health finds solace in his faith and a phone call with a stranger. A Sidewalk Youth Board production.
STATUE ISLAND
Directors: Princess and The Cowboy
Country: USA, Running Time: 3 min
A tour of statues around the New York City borough of Staten Island.
VERONICA ROWAN – QUARANTINE VLOG
Director: Veronica Rowan
Country: USA, Running Time: 3 min
A candid explanation from a Birmingham teenager on how the pandemic has altered her life.
WAITING IN APRIL
Director: Madison Condrey
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:30 min
An examination of teen restlessness in the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 shutdown.
YEAH BUGGY.
Director: Ellie Lee Stayner
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:30 min
A brother takes his siblings on an adventure.
Narrative Shorts #4
TRT: 116 min
A LIVING SCULPTURE
Director. Diana Chire
Country: UK, Running Time: 8:30 min
Francesca, a horn player and music composition student, is contemplating the pros and cons of continuing a relationship with an artist she’s seeing named Nick.
BLOCKS
Director. Bridget Moloney
Country: USA, Running Time: 11 min
An existential comedy about the mother of two young children who begins to spontaneously vomit toy blocks.
EX DISPOSER
Director. Daniel Ferrer
Country: USA, Running Time: 18:30 min
EX DISPOSER follows Andy, the destructively neurotic former drummer for New Jersey hardcore outfit Disposer, who discovers his old band is returning home after a cross-country tour.
KNOCK KNOCK
Director: Colin Albea
Country: USA, Running Time: 13:30 min
A man must decide where his loyalties reside after receiving a knock on his door from a political campaign volunteer.
OBSERVANTIUM
Director. Ben Davis
Country: USA, Running Time: 16 min
A young widow’s oddball husband returns from the grave with a cryptic message that flips her whole world upside down.
REFLECTION
Director: Timur Bootzin
Country: USA, Running Time: 10 min
Two worlds, two lives – story of choice and opportunity.
SILVER IN THE CHURN
Director. Jasper Lee
Country: USA, Running Time: 9 min
A hypnotic audio-visual song in which the Southern landscape is used as a foundation for exploring superstition, ritual, and the sacred.
SIX NIGHTS
Director: Robert Brogden
Country: USA, Running Time: 12 min
When a line cook doesn’t show up for work just before a busy Friday night dinner service, Diego is given a chance to step up and take his place.
TANTALIZATION
Director: Matthew Brdlik
Country: USA, Running Time: 13:30 min
A craftsman struggling to cope with the loss of his wife falls down a dark path as he begins to restore a captivating old knife.
WILTED
Director: Alex McFry
Country: USA, Running Time: 13:30 min
After the death of their son, a southern couple in the deep south struggle with their loss and their differences in mourning.
Documentary Shorts #1
TRT: 113 min
DOUGH
Director. Stacy Elaine Dacheux
Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min
A woman draws from a history of mothers while making dough and baking.
FEED THE NEED
Director. Lauren Musgrove
Country: USA, Running Time: 7 min
Welcome to Drexell & Honeybee’s in Brewton, Alabama – a restaurant with no menu, no prices and no staff.
FULL CIRCLE: THE BALLAD OF BALLAD OF RODNEY & ROSCOE
Director. Tyler Jones
Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min
Two BBQ family legacies come together in Birmingham, Al as Roscoe Hall and Rodney Scott forge a new path to bring whole hog cooking to the world.
HOBSON CITY: FROM PERIL TO PROMISE
Director. Theo M. Moore II
Country: USA, Running Time: 27:30 min
The inspiring and historic community of Hobson City, Alabama tells their story of being the first city in Alabama to be entirely governed by African Americans and traces the town’s journey through reconstruction, the civil rights movement, and modern day times.
THE PINK HOUSE
Director. Kenzie Greer
Country: USA, Running Time: 22 min
A story about Homewood, Alabama’s infamous “pink house”, a place for artist mentorship and community development that impacted the lives of many.
SILENCES
Director. Nolan Knight
Country: USA, Running Time: 32 min
Adia Victoria seeks to reclaim the blues as protest music. Along the way, Adia builds a tight-knit community of like-minded musicians, artists, poets, entrepreneurs and family.
WISHES
Director. Amy Jenkins
Country: USA, Running Time: 5:30 min
The secret yearnings of a child for an alternate identity are traced through a decade of birthday wishes filmed by their mother.
Documentary Shorts #2
TRT: 130 min
A SONG CAN CHANGE A LIFE
Director: Warren Matson
Country: USA, Running Time: 16:30 min
In this little known history of America’s first Black Country Western duo, a theme of reconciliation addresses race relations and an end of estrangement between a father and son.
ABOVE THE SEARCH
Director. Sonya Sam Mitchell
Country: USA, Running Time: 3 min
Above the Search is a short film composed of uniquely captured photos that portray our journey through life while searching for the key to the mystery of daily existence.
ALL I HAVE TO OFFER YOU IS ME
Director. Dillon Hayes
Country: USA, Running Time: 14 min
In 1990, Larry Callies was an aspiring country-western singer on the verge of signing a record deal with MCA Nashville, but when he developed a degenerative vocal cord disease that took his voice and ended his singing career, he had to start over completely.
COBY AND STEPHEN ARE IN LOVE
Directors: Carlo Nasisse and Yuanyuan Yang
Country: USA, Running Time: 28 min
Coby Yee, a 92-year-old retired nightclub dancer and icon from San Francisco Chinatown, and Stephen King, an experimental filmmaker 20 years her junior have found an unlikely love in each other through matching outfits, dance, and art.
DAFA METTI
Director: Tal Amiran
Countries: UK/France, Running Time: 14:30 min
Under Paris’ glittering Eiffel Tower, undocumented Senegalese migrants sell miniature souvenirs of the monument to support their families back home. Far from their loved ones and hounded by the police, each day is a struggle through darkness in the City of Lights.
ENGAGE EARTH
Director. James Choi
Country: Brazil, Running Time: 15:30 min
A look inside Brazilian artist Denise Milan and her long ongoing work with stones leading to an impactful art program in Heliópolis, one of the largest favelas in the Americas located outside of Sao Paulo.
MOVING SPIRITS: HISTORY OF THE ENSLAVED & CIVIL RIGHTS: THROUGH MOVEMENT, DANCE & SONG
Directors. Jennifer Mizenko and Rhondalyn Peairs
Country: USA, Running Time: 32 min
Do you know the stories of the enslaved persons who built the buildings you walk into on a daily basis? What is the ideology behind the symbols we walk by every day? Witness the process of members of the Lafayette/Oxford/University of Mississippi community learn and embody their local history.
ONE IN A MILLION
Directors. Tamika Moore and Lauren Musgrove
Country: USA, Running Time: 6:30 min
Jeremy Harper holds the Guinness World Record for highest number counted out loud: 1 million. It was a strange and challenging journey to get there, with a 24-hour live stream and 89 days spent inside his apartment.
Documentary Shorts #3
TRT: 123 min
MY MUD, MY HILLSIDE
Director. Julia Mendoza Friedman
Country: Puerto Rico, Running Time: 20:30 min
Chemi Rosado-Seijo is community engagement artist who has spent over a decade working with the residents of El Cerro, Puerto Rico in a city wide art project to paint all the houses different shades of green to match the aesthetics of the mountain side.
INVASION: UNIST’OT’EN’S FIGHT FOR SOVEREIGNTY
Directors. Michael Toledano, Sam Vinal
Country: Canada, Running Time: 18 min
The Wet’suwet’en Nation of British Columbia stands up to defend their unceded lands from the Canadian government, oil/gas companies, and colonialism while addressing violence against indigenous people.
CONGRESS CARES
Director. Theodore Collatos
Country: USA, Running Time: 8:30 min
On March 27th, the United States congress approved a multi-trillion dollar coronavirus relief package by voice vote. “Congress Cares”” is a satirical chronicle of the faux debate.
USA VS SCOTT
Directors. Ora DeKornfeld, Isabel Castro
Countries: Mexico/USA, Running Time: 25 min
A geography professor awaits felony trial and a possible 20-year-prison sentence for giving food and shelter to migrants in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert.
THE FIGHT FOR THE NOBLEST DEMOCRACY: WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE IN ALABAMA
Director. Jenna M. Bedsole
Country: USA, Running Time: 24 min
The road for the right for women to vote both nationally and in Alabama has been a long fight; this is an exploration of the history and future of the struggle for women’s suffrage.
UNMARKED
Directors. Brad J. Bennett, Chris Haley
Country: USA, Running Time: 27 min
Throughout the South, there are many historic African-American and unmarked burials of the formerly enslaved that are derelict or have been lost to time. A group of individuals has stepped up and created a renewed interest in active restoration and preservation efforts.
Black Lens Shorts
TRT: 108 min
A MOTHER
Director: Natasha K Ngaiza
Country: USA, Running Time: 16 min
As a town copes with the disappearance of a little girl, a mother of two must come to terms with her own decision to abort an unexpected pregnancy.
ADULLAM
Director: Regina Hoyles
Country: USA, Running Time: 14 min
A young Chicago woman with a well-kept secret enjoys a typical day in the south suburbs.
BROTHER
Director: Ya’ke
Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min
Jason and Caleb have been friends for the better part of a decade, but then Caleb’s brother comes home.
COUP D’ETAT MATH
Director: Sai Selvarajan
Country: USA, Running Time: 7:30 min
The film explores four different immigrant stories – a fight to be born, a fight to survive, a fight to find your place, and the fight to maintain.
GOOD GUY WITH A GUN
Director: Bryian Montgomery
Country: USA, Running Time: 20 min
An incel walks us through his newfound epiphany on why he decided to buy a gun.
GOSSAMER
Director: Charlie Schmidlin
Country: USA, Running Time: 14:30 min
An Illinois farming family on the verge of collapse faces an uncertain future when livestock disappear and a tick finds a host.
HANGRY
Director: Clint Till
Country: USA, Running Time: 7:30 min
An elderly man attempts to right a lunchtime wrong.
INVERTED
Director: Marcus January
Country USA, Running Time: 5 min
Kevin comes home to an unexpected situation with his housemate.
SLAVE 2
Director: Rico Shay
Country: USA, Running Time: 8 min
Ancestors from the past and the lineage of the present are compared to what they are enslaved to mentally.
Environmental Shorts
TRT: 132 min
50 LITTLE BIRDS
Director: Hannah Lindgren
Country: USA, Running Time: 9 min
Indiana folk artist Geoff Davis reflects on his back on his life and shares how he found peace through reconnecting with nature and art.
CONVICTION
Director: Kristy Choi
Country: USA, Running Time: 24 min
After a high-profile bribery scandal led to the convictions of the three powerful conspirators, the community they targeted is left in the dust to find relief from decades of toxic air and soil pollution. Community members in the North Birmingham neighborhoods of Collegeville, Harriman Park, and Fairmont tell their personal stories and share their struggles as they seek a healthier life for the generations of the future.
ELVERS
15.5 Minutes
Director: Rachael Morrison
Country: USA, Running Time: 15:30 min
Along the coast of Maine in late winter, millions of baby freshwater eels called “elvers” float up tidal rivers and propel a highly lucrative international seafood trade. ELVERS follows an eclectic cast of characters who describe what happened when this small-town Maine fishery exploded into a gold rush and blackmarket.
HURRICANE CREEKKEEPER
Director: William Green
Country: USA, Running Time: 6:30 min
Hurricane Creek in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama has a unique and diverse ecosystem that is unmatched in other parts of the world. Follow elder “creekkeeper” John Wathen as he delves into the importance of protecting the creek.
INTO THE BLACK
Director: Kenzie Greer
Country: USA, Running Time: 20 min
Human ignited “prescribed fire”, also known as controlled burns, are an essential technique to maintain and restore critical habitats of forest ecosystems in Alabama.
THE MYSTICAL MIGRATION OF THE MONARCH
Directors: Fairn Whatley, Suzanne Damrich
Country: USA, Running Time: 14:30 min
Monarch butterflies travel thousands of miles between Mexico and the United States each year and have a unique relationship to the Gulf Coast. However, their numbers are dwindling and their population is at risk due to habitat loss.
SOMETHING ABOUT A LITTLE RIVER
Director: Jeb Brackner
Country: USA, Running Time: 17 min
There’s only one river in North America that flows entirely on top of a mountain — the Little River in Northeast Alabama. For over 100 years, the Little River Canyon has attracted visitors with its geology, biodiversity, and breathtaking beauty.
WATERS OF THE U.S.
Director: Remi Escudié
Country: USA, Running Time: 21 min
Many rivers, streams, and wetlands of Alabama are being threatened by the proposed rolling back of crucial protections detailed in the Clean Water Act. This film explores the economic benefits, ecological health, and cultural way of life that hang in the balance.
Shout Shorts
TRT: 135 min
A SHORT STORY ABOUT THE LIFE OF ELISE
Director. Annie Funderburk
Country: USA, Running Time: 3 min
This French language short film is narrated by Elise as she describes her life from childhood to high school.
BLISS IS ORANGE
Director. Jenna Kanell
Country: USA, Running Time: 6 min
When the chip implanted in her wrist lights up green, Claire discovers that someone nearby is the love of her life.
THE FAMILY ALBUM
Director. Anthony Chapman
Country: USA, Running Time: 20 min
A teenage home health care worker in the deep south forms a special bond with her first client, a trans man in the final months of his life.
HAPPYTIME SOCIAL CLUB
Director. Dave Rodden-Shortt
Country: Canada, Running Time: 4:30 min
Joseph R. Selsey’s belongings were discovered in a shoebox by a dumpster in 2015, and the contents give us a rare glimpse into life as a gay man in Vancouver in the 1950s.
HOUSE DOWN
Director. Savannah Colbert
Country: USA, Running Time: 13:30 min
HOUSE DOWN focuses on Jasmine, a drag queen, and her budding relationship with Dave, the new guy in town. Jasmine thinks she has finally found someone who accepts her for who she is, or so she thinks. But what will happen when she is faced with a less than ideal situation?
IRRESISTIBLE
Director. Sarah Gambles
Country: USA, Running Time: 4:30 min
A woman meets a flirty shoplifter while waiting for a blind date.
MAKING SAMANTHA
Directors. T Cooper and Allison Glock-Cooper
Country: USA, Running Time: 10 min
“I Am Samantha,” by singer-songwriter Benjamin Scheuer, was inspired by his friend, Samantha Williams. The music video stars 27 trans actors telling the story of the universal human journey to find identity, acceptance and love.
THE REMINDER
Director. Connor Lyons
Country: USA, Running Time: 7 min
A memoir dedicated to the filmmaker’s late mother
THAT WAS RAY
Directors. Jordan Gorman, Brenten Brandenburg, Kaustubh Singh
Country: USA, Running Time: 17:30 min
THAT WAS RAY chronicles the life of Reverend Raymond “Ray” Broshears, who was at the forefront of the San Francisco gay rights movement in the late 60s to mid-70s. While he preached peace and acceptance, he also founded a militant group, “The Lavender Panthers”, which curbed hate crimes with the threat of violence.
TENDER
Director. Felicia Pride
Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min
After two women in different stages of their lives have an unexpected one night stand, they share an even more intimate morning after.
VOTE NEIL
Diretor. Honora Talbott
Country: USA, Running Time: 18:30 min
Two gay Marines in Birmingham, Alabama battle their hardest mission: Election Week 2018. Neil is a first time politician running for State House. Mike is his fiancé and campaign manager searching for purpose. An intimate portrait about politics, the Southern LGBTQ experience, and one incredible love story.
WE
Director. Brandon Winters
Country: USA, Running Time: 14 min
A codependent couple wakes up one morning physically conjoined, forcing them to face issues in their relationship.
Animated Shorts
TRT: 115 min
CRUEL SHOES
Director: Kevan Peterson
Country: USA, Running Time: 2 min
A woman goes into a shoe store, and leaves with… cruel shoes. Based on the short story “Cruel Shoes,” by Steve Martin.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PIEROGI
Director: Jonathan Phillips
Country: USA, Running Time: 3 min
Everything one may need to know about pierogi, and then more.
GRAB MY HAND: A LETTER TO MY DEAD
Directors. Camrus Johnson, Pedro Piccinini
Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min
An animated love letter from a son to his grieving father who just lost his best friend.
I AM HE WHO CREATED HIMSELF
Director: Emma Penaz Eisner
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:30 min
Joining with his shadow, the first god creates himself, the progenitor of humanity.
IF ANYTHING HAPPENS I LOVE YOU
Directors. Will McCormack and Michael Govier
Country: USA, Running Time: 13 min
Grieving parents struggle with the loss of their daughter after a school shooting.
IN AN EMPTY WOOD
Director: Chia-Hsin Lee
Country: USA, Running Time: 2:30 min
A poetic exploration addressing the jealousy of seeing someone succeed in a path you once considered.
KIRBY IN PORTAL
Director: Duncan Holditch
Country: USA, Running Time: 2 min
Kirby goes on an adventure through several test chambers, finding chaos at every corner. Will he make it?
KITE
Director. HongWei Wang
Country: China, Running Time: 16 min
One day a strange little white man picked up a mysterious huge box and discovered a little grey man inside of it.
MIZUKO
Directors. Kira Dane, Katelyn Rebelo
Countries: USA/Japan, Running Time: 15 min
Inspired by the Japanese Buddhist “water child memorial” ritual, a half-Japanese American woman reexamines abortion ethics after becoming pregnant herself.
THE ODYSSEY OF CLEVE EATON
Director: Kevin Webb
Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min
A surreal journey with musician extraordinaire and Birmingham native Cleve Eaton.
SLEEPY HEAD
Director: Kenny Saylor
Country: USA, Running Time: 3 min
Just another morning turns into a day to remember.
SPARK
Directors. Charles Benevento, Matthew Colglazier
Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min
In a dystopian, off world factory, a worn out worker robot discovers a golden record that plays a song that gives him a new purpose in life.
TIGER AND OX
Director. Seunghee Kim
Country: Republic of Korea, Running Time: 8:30 min
A single mother and her daughter have a conversation about what divorce means to women in Korean patriarchal society.
TOBI AND THE TURBOBUS
Director: Verena Fels
Country: Germany, Running Time: 7:30 min
You fly with no seat! That’s the rule in the Turbobus. To get one is a hard day job for a young wolf on his turbo-journey to find real friendship.
TOSS
Director: Carl D’Arpa
Country: USA, Running Time: 3 min
Life through the eyes of a frog being thrown high into the air by a rambunctious young boy.
THE TREASURES OF MRS. GRADY’S LIBRARY
Director: Richard O’Connor
Country: USA, Running Time: 3 min
Judge Olly Neal recounts how a book — and a little nudge from two helpful librarians — turned him around academically.
UMBILICAL
Dir. Danski Tang
Countries: USA/China, Running Time: 7 min
A mother and her daughter explore issues surrounding abuse and survival in Chinese society.
VIRUS QUEST
Director. Fletcher Ash
Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min
A warrior wielding a magic sword must stop the spread of an evil virus.
WALT
Directors: Greg Yagolnitzer, Brendan Walter
Country: USA, Running 4 min
A small, egg-shaped creature named Walt struggles with ordinary life in New York City.
WANDERER OF PLANET PARALLELOGRAM
Director: Nnamdi Anyaele
Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min
A young astronaut gets marooned on a desert planet, and her presence alerts a mysterious inhabitant.
Music Videos
TRT: 89 min
“Action”
Artist: Don Broco
Director: Benjamin Roberds
Country: USA, Running Time: 6 min
“Amaurose”
Artist: HaLeek Maul
Director: Maxime Durand
Country: Switzerland, Running Time: 5 min
“Another Place”
Artist: Bastille feat. Alessia Cara
Directors: Anna Radchenko, Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux
Countries: United Kingdom/Canada, Running Time: 4 min
“AV”
Artist: BandRunna Gwaup
Director: Katrina Blair
Country: USA, Running Time: 2 min
“B.A.M.A.S”.
Artist: ChriStyle
Directors: Jeremiah Fanning, Ian Miller
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:30 min
“Born To Lose”
Artist: The Dirty Clergy
Director: Alex M. Gibson
Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min
“Call of the Wild”
Artist: Agoria feat. STS
Director: Loïc Andrieu
Country: France, Running Time: 5:30 min
“Chef Giants”
Artist: Luther and The Boy
Director: Troy DeWinne
Country: USA, Running Time: 1 min
“Colors”
Artist: Black Pumas
Director: Kristian Mercado
County: USA, Running Time: 4:30 min
“Dirty”
Artist: Capyac
Director: David Nast Cole
Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min
“Don’t Lose Your Head”
Artist: Ruby Bones
Director: Brian Lonano
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:30 min
“Fallen Angel”
Artist: Nikki & The Phantom Callers
Director: Video Rahim
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:30 min
“Hanna Mash Hu Al Yaman”
Artist: A-WA
Director: Omer Ben-David
Country: Israel, Running Time: 4 min
“Healing Creek”
Artist: Taliban Safiya
Director: Kevin Brooks
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:30 min
“I’m Not Ready”
Artist: Maggie Dave
Director: Cassie Shao
Country: USA, Running Time: 2 min
“Met My Baby (Down At The Record Store)”
Artist: Jubal John
Director: Jason O’Brien
Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min
“Night Terrors”
Artist: Kudoz
Director: Ellie Lee Stayner
Country: USA, Running Time: 3 min
“Older Than Time”
Artist: After Dark We Rise
Director: RJ Ortiz
Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min
“Roll On My Friend”
Artist: Pharis and Romero
Directors. Lauren Musgrove, William MacGavin
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:30 min
“Salute”
Artist: King Kwofi
Director: Benjamin Stark
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:30 min
“Square One”
Artist: Joe Scully
Director: Jackson Ross
Country: USA, Running Time: 4:30 min
“Tonight”
Artist: Bimbo
Director: Jeremiah Fanning
Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min
“You”
Artist: James Arthur feat. Travis Barker
Director Timon Birkhofer
Country: Germany, Running Time: 4 min
Related posts:
