The Birmingham-based Sidewalk Film Festival announced the complete lineup for the 24th edition of the film festival taking place August 22-28.
This year’s Opening Night screening will be Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcomb’s festival favorite documentary Butterfly in the Sky and Margaret Brown’s documentary Descendant, winner of a Special Jury Prize at Sundance, will be the Closing Night screening. They are among and incredibly packed schedule including 62 features (24 narrative, 38 documentaries), 184 short films (83 narrative, 64 documentary, 17 animated, 20 teen) 7 episodic projects, and 20 music videos All of takes place over 7 days of films, panels, parties and events that will check all of the boxes the film festival has become known for: top independent titles, screenings of throwback favorites and rare titles, films that delve into the socio-politics of the moment, and all of it ultimately aiming to provide film lovers with the best time they could possibly have immersing themselves in Sidewalk’s distinctive style and love of film. In addition to the Closing Night screening, As if that isn’t enough, Sidewalk has also put added programming to place more emphasis on local Alabama-based filmmakers and films shot in the state this year.
Sidewalk’s traditional themed showcase evenings will begin on Monday, August 22 with an Alabama Spotlight highlighted by a special program of short films shot and produced in the state or with Alabama as a central theme and focus. The evening will be capped by TVs Of Terror: Sleepaway Camp (1983). Robert Hiltzik’s film follows a shy, traumatized young girl who has been sent to summer camp with her cousin. Shortly after her arrival, anyone with sinister or less than honorable intentions toward her gets their comeuppance.
Tuesday, August 23 will be the Life & Liberty Spotlight headlined by Cynthia Lowen’s Battleground, an urgently timely window into the intersection of abortion and politics in America, following three women who lead formidable anti-abortion organizations to witness the enormous influence they wield. As the nation faces the end of Roe, the film also depicts those on the front lines of the fierce fight to maintain access. Battleground was partially filmed in Alabama and includes Alabamians Jenna King and Samantha Blakely.
Wednesday, August 24 will aim the Spotlight on SHOUT, Sidewalk FF’s acclaimed LGBTQ showcase, presented by AIDS Alabama and sponsored by Magic City LGBTQ Health Studies, the featured film will be Ray Whitehouse’s A Run For More. The film focuses on Frankie Gonzales-Wolfe as she attempts to make history as the first openly elected transgender official in Texas. Unfolding amidst an onslaught of trans legal attacks, A Run for More immerses viewers on Frankie’s journey as she finds her voice, questions her relationship to community, and tries to win an election.
Thursday, August 25 is Sidewalk’s Black Lens Spotlight Night, and Jo Rochelle’s Jasmine Is A Star is the featured film, which follows a determined 16-year-old with albinism makes it her mission to become a professional model in her hometown of Minneapolis, while attempting to go unnoticed in every other aspect of her teenage life.
The official Opening Night selection on Friday, August 26 will be Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcomb’s documentary Butterfly in the Sky. The film tells the story of the 80s television classroom staple Reading Rainbow hosted by LeVar Burton. The film chronicles the efforts of broadcasters, educators, filmmakers, and, of course, the beloved host who believed television could inspire a lifelong love of reading. Two nights later, on Sunday, August 28, Margaret Brown’s documentary Descendant will take the official Closing Night slot as Sidewalk presents the award-winning filmmaker’s film which looks at her return to Mobile, Alabama to document the search for and historic discovery of The Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive in America illegally transporting enslaved Africans.
Highlights among the other narrative titles include Tyler Russell’s Cyst, an old school monster movie in which a new cyst-removal machine inadvertently turns a patient’s tumor into a cyst-monster that terrorizes the office. Russell Alabama’s own George Hardy are scheduled to attend. Robert Machoian’s The Integrity Of Joseph Chambers premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and stars Alabama native and resident, Clayne Crawford. Shot in Alabama, the film is about an insurance salesmen, who, fearing the apocalypse sets off into the woods on a solo hunting experiment. Kestrin Pantera’s Pretty Problems stars Birmingham native Britt Rentschler in a comedy about a couple that accepts an invitation to a Sonoma Chateau by affluent strangers, and end up in the most unhinged weekend of their lives. The film was this year’s winner of the Narrative Spotlight Audience Award at SXSW. Jeff Baena’s latest, Spin Me Round follows the experiences of a woman who wins an all-expenses trip to a company’s gorgeous “institute” outside of Florence, and also the chance to meet the restaurant chain’s wealthy and charismatic owner. However, she finds a different adventure than the one she imagined. The film stars Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Molly Shannon and Tim Heidecker.
Throwback titles include John G. Avildsen’s The Karate Kid Part III (1989). Arguably the most over-the-top (and fun) Karate Kid in the series, Ostracized villain John Kreese attempts to gain revenge on Daniel and Miyagi, with the help of a Vietnam War comrade, the wealthy owner of a toxic waste disposal business. The screening is part of the Sidewalk Family line-up, with kids 12 and under getting in for free. In celebration of Olivia Newton-John, Sidewalk will present Robert Greenwald’s cult-musical classic Xanadu (1980) Featuring the music of ELO and co-starring Gene Kelly, the film’s synopsis would tell you it’s about a struggling artist living in Los Angeles meeting a girl who may hold the key to his happiness, but we all know it’s a secret documentary about the fact that for a magical time, Olivia Newton John made everything better for everyone – even on roller skates.
Exemplifying the special curatorial events that make Sidewalk a singular film festival experience include the following presentations: Daniel Fox’s documentary Etowah looks at the wild, incredible life of Duquette Johnston that took him from the spotlight with breakout 90’s indie band Verbena all the way down to the Etowah County Correctional Facility and then back to Birmingham, opening a clothing store in Woodlawn and releasing a critically acclaimed new record. The screening will be followed by a Q&A and special live performance by Duquette Johnston. Jason Kohn’s documentary Manda Bala (Send A Bullet) (2007) is a film that is incredibly difficult to find, let alone see it on the big screen. The Grand Jury Prize: Documentary winner at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival is an examination of corruption and class warfare in Brazil as told through the stories of a wealthy businessman, a plastic surgeon who assists kidnapping victims and a politician whose income relies on a frog farm.
Finally, the “only at Sidewalk” award could easily go to the Double Feature presentation of Jay Burleson’s The Third Saturday In October and The Third Saturday in October Part V. In the first film, Ricky Dean Logan is a man on a mission. Years ago, he lost a child at the hands of a spree killer, and as that killer escapes Death Row, Ricky Dean throws himself in the line of fire to stop him from killing again as the killer preys upon a group of friends gathered to watch a college football game. In Part V an unstoppable killer stalks and butchers the occupants of multiple homes across the stretch of one lone country road as the residents prepare to watch the yearly college football bout between the Alabama-Mobile Seahawks and Tennessee A&M Commonwealth. The films are unabashed love letters to the slashers of the 80’s, and Burelson will be on hand to talk about his vision.
2022 Sidewalk Film Festival Official Selections:
OPENING NIGHT SELECTION
Butterfly In The Sky
Directors: Bradford Thomason, Brett Whitcomb
Country: United States; Running Time: 87 min
A feature-length documentary telling the story of Reading Rainbow. The film explores the legendary 80s television program hosted by LeVar Burton that has been notably recognized as a classroom staple. Butterfly in the Sky chronicles the journeys of a handful of broadcasters, educators, filmmakers, and one incredible host who believed television could inspire a lifelong love of reading.
CLOSING NIGHT SELECTION
Descendant
Director: Margaret Brown
Country: United States; Running Time: 109 min
Award-winning filmmaker Margaret Brown returns to her hometown of Mobile, Alabama, to document the search for and historic discovery of The Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive in America illegally transporting enslaved Africans. After a century of secrecy and speculation, descendants of The Clotilda’s survivors are reclaiming their story as they search for this elusive wreckage, joined by a team of globally renowned archeologists and divers from the Smithsonian.
NARRATIVE FEATURES
Bebe’s Kids (1992)
Director: Bruce W. Smith
Country: United States; Running Time: 72 min
To impress his new girlfriend, a man agrees to look after her friend’s kids, only to find that they are uncontrollably rambunctious.
Bootyology
Director: Joe Eddy
Country: United States; Running Time: 110 min
When a documentary crew sets out to explore the relationship between artificial intelligence and popular music, their journey takes an unexpected turn when they stumble across a mystery involving the disappearance of the infamous rap duo, The Booty Boys.
The Civil Dead
Director: Clay Tatum
Country: United States; Running Time: 103 min
A misanthropic, struggling photographer just wants to watch TV and eat candy while his wife is out of town, but when a desperate old pal resurfaces, his plans are thwarted, with spooky consequences. From Alabama natives Clay Tatum and Whitmer Thomas.
Cyst
Director: Tyler Russell
Country: United States; Running Time: 73 min
Cyst is an old school monster movie in which an enthusiastic plastic surgeon will stop at nothing to patent his latest cyst-removal machine. What started out as Patricia the nurse’s last day turns into a battle for survival when the doctor’s machine inadvertently turns a patient’s tumor into a cyst-monster that terrorizes the office. Starring Alabama’s own George Hardy
Funny Pages
Director: Owen Kline
Country: United States; Running Time: 86 min
A bitingly funny coming-of-age story of a teenage cartoonist who rejects the comforts of his suburban life in a misguided quest for soul.
God’s Country
Director: Julian Higgins
Country: United States; Running Time: 102 min
When a grieving college professor confronts two hunters she catches trespassing on her property, she’s drawn into an escalating battle of wills with catastrophic consequences.
God’s Creatures
Directors: Saela Davis & Anna Rose Holmer
Country: United States; Running Time: 94 min
In a windswept fishing village, a mother is torn between protecting her beloved son and her own sense of right and wrong. A lie she tells for him rips apart their family and close-knit community in this tense, sweepingly emotional epic. Starring Emily Watson, Paul Mescal and Aisling Franciosi.
Good Girl Jane
Director: Sarah Elizabeth Mintz
Country: United States; Running Time: 117 min
Starring Rain Spencer, Patrick Gibson and Andie MacDowell, Good Girl Jane is a drug-fueled love story inspired by true events. Jane, a lonely teen, struggles to find intimacy in her broken home. She sinks deeper into her feelings of isolation until a raucous group of misfits throws her a lifeline. This electric crew introduces Jane to a life of pain-free acceptance and camaraderie, and offers her a much needed sense of relief. As she plunges head first into their explosive world, she encounters a charming drug dealer, Jamie. The two fall hopelessly in love. As Jamie’s influence grows, Jane becomes entangled in his amateur meth ring. Their intoxicating relationship consumes her, causing Jane’s health and home life to erode rapidly, finally culminating in catastrophe. Ultimately, Jane is forced to choose between Jamie and her own survival.
The Integrity Of Joseph Chambers
Director: Robert Machoian
Country: United States; Running Time: 96 min
Fearing the apocalypse, an insurance salesman sets off into the woods on a solo hunting experiment. Shot in Alabama and featuring Alabama native and resident, Clayne Crawford, THE INTEGRITY OF JOSEPH CHAMBERS recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Jasmine Is A Star
Director: Jo Rochelle
Country: United States; Running Time: 58 min
A determined 16-year-old with albinism makes it her mission to become a professional model in her hometown of Minneapolis, while attempting to go unnoticed in every other aspect of her teenage life.
The Karate Kid Part III (1989)
Director: John G. Avildsen
Country: United States; Running Time: 112 min
Ostracised villain John Kreese attempts to gain revenge on Daniel and Miyagi, with the help of a Vietnam War comrade, the wealthy owner of a toxic waste disposal business.
Our Father, The Devil (Mon Père, le Diabe)
Director: Ellie Foumbi
Country: France, United States; Running Time: 107 min
An African immigrant’s quiet existence in a small mountain town in the south of France is upended by the arrival of an African priest, whom she recognizes from her past
Peace In The Valley
Director: Tyler Riggs
Country: United States; Running Time: 88 min
After losing her husband in a mass shooting, a devastated young mother seeks closure while shouldering the weight of raising their son on her own.
Petit Mal
Director: Ruth Caudeli
Country: Colombia; Running Time: 89 min
Three young women, Martina, Laia, and Anto, who are in a passionate, throuple see the dynamic of their relationship reshaped when one is called away for a long-term project.
Pretty Problems
Director: Kestrin Pantera
Country: United States; Running Time: 103 min
Low cash flow + plan B jobs + a snooze alarm sex life: Jack and Lindsey Simpson are officially stuck. But when they get invited to a Sonoma Chateau by affluent strangers, they end up on the most unhinged weekend of their lives. With the “haves,” anything goes — including their bearings on reality. Can their relationship survive this new wild west of wealth? Do they even want it to? Smash a glass, take the ride.
Quantum Cowboys
Director: Geoff Marslett
Country: United States; Running Time: 99 min
In this mixed-media animated film, two hapless drifters, Frank and Bruno, team up with Linde to recover her land and trek across 1870s Southern Arizona to find an elusive frontier musician. Complex quantum time theory is blended with philosophical musings about art as the way we understand our history and memories, with gunfights, horses, dance halls, cacti, and saloons.
Resurrection
Director: Andrew Semans
Country: United States; Running Time: 103 min
A woman’s carefully constructed life is upended when an unwelcome shadow from her past returns, forcing her to confront the monster she’s evaded for two decades.
Retrograde
Director: Adrian Murray
Country: United States; Running Time: 74 min
A minor traffic citation spirals into an all-consuming obsession for a neurotic young woman.
Sleepaway Camp (1983)
Director: Robert Hiltzik
Country: United States; Running Time: 84 min
Angela Baker, a shy, traumatized young girl, is sent to summer camp with her cousin. Shortly after her arrival, anyone with sinister or less than honorable intentions toward her gets their comeuppance.
Spin Me Round
Director: Jeff Baena
Country: United States; Running Time: 104 min
A woman wins an all-expenses trip to a company’s gorgeous “institute” outside of Florence, and also the chance to meet the restaurant chain’s wealthy and charismatic owner. She finds a different adventure than the one she imagined. Starring Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Molly Shannon and Tim Heidecker.
The Third Saturday In October and The Third Saturday in October Part V Double Feature
Director: Jay Burleson
Country: United States; Running Time: 192 min
The Third Saturday in October Part V
It’s Part V! A love letter to the lesser sequels to popular 80’s slasher franchises, The Third Saturday in October Part V tells the story of an unstoppable killer as he stalks and butchers the occupants of multiple homes across the stretch of one lone country road as the residents prepare to watch the yearly college football bout between the Alabama-Mobile Seahawks and Tennessee A&M Commonwealth.
Screening with:
The Third Saturday in October
A lost slasher film from the golden age of the slasher genre. October 1979. Ricky Dean Logan is a man on a mission. Years ago, he lost a child at the hands of a spree killer, and as that killer escapes Death Row, Ricky Dean throws himself in the line of fire to stop him from killing again as the killer preys upon a group of friends gathered to watch a college football game.
Warm Blood
Director: Rick Charnoski
Country: United States; Running Time: 96 min
Red, a runaway in the 1980s, returns to the outskirts of her NorCal hometown to track down her wayward father and falls in with a young drifter.
Xanadu (1980)
Director: Robert Greenwald
Country: United States; Running Time: 96 min
A struggling artist living in Los Angeles meets a girl who may hold the key to his happiness.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
A Life On The Farm
Director: Oscar Harding
Country: United States; Running Time: 75 min
When filmmaker Oscar Harding’s grandfather passed away in the rural English county of Somerset, his family inherited an extraordinary video tape – a feature-length home movie from neighbor Charles Carson, which can best be described as “Monty Python meets The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”. A Life on the Farm is an exploration and celebration of Charles Carson and his movies, rescued from obscurity, which present a moving and laugh-out-loud document of a time and place in danger of being lost to history.
A Run For More
Director: Ray Whitehouse
Country: United States; Running Time: 82 min
Growing up, Frankie Gonzales-Wolfe learned to be a fighter, but never imagined having a chance to make history as the first openly elected transgender official in Texas. Unfolding amidst an onslaught of trans legal attacks, A Run for More immerses viewers on Frankie’s journey as she finds her voice, questions her relationship to community, and tries to win an election.
A Walk With Joey
Director: Dana Lynn Falletta, J. Neil Bloomer
Country: United States; Running Time: 63 min
A documentary of the unlikely friendship between Joey Hale and Lionel “Little Train” James – the former Auburn/NFL Football player. This inspirational story begins with tragedy and details the impact on each other’s life.
All Man: The International Male Story
Directors: Bryan Darling and Jesse Finley Reed
Country: United States; Running Time: 83 min
A nostalgic and colorful peek behind the pages and personalities of International Male, one of the most ubiquitous and sought-after mail-order catalogs of the ’80s and ’90s.
The Automat
Director: Lisa Hurwitz
Country: United States; Running Time: 79 min
The Automat tells the 100-year story of the iconic restaurant chain Horn & Hardart, the inspiration for Starbucks, where generations of Americans ate and drank coffee together at communal tables. From the perspective of former customers entertainer Mel Brooks, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Secretary of State Colin Powell, the Horns, the Hardarts, and key employees – we watch a business climb to its peak success and then grapple with fast food in a forever changed America.
Bad Axe
Director: David Siev
Country: United States; Running Time: 100 min
A real-time portrait of 2020 unfolds as an Asian-American family in Trump’s rural America fights to keep their restaurant and American dream alive in the face of a pandemic, Neo-Nazis, and generational scars from the Cambodian Killing Fields.
Screens with:
Last Days of August
Directors:Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck, Robert Machoian
13 Minutes • Doc Short
Does a town still exist if nearly everyone has died or left? Using the photobook aesthetic, filmmakers Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck and Robert Machoian explore some nearly abandoned prairie towns of Nebraska and meditate on the blurred lines between still photography and cinema.
Battleground
Director: Cynthia Lowen
Country: United States; Running Time: 105 min
Battleground is an urgently timely window into the intersection of abortion and politics in America, following three women who lead formidable anti-abortion organizations to witness the enormous influence they wield. As the nation faces the end of Roe, the film also depicts those on the front lines of the fierce fight to maintain access.
Billion Dollar Babies
Director: Andrew Jenks
Country: United States; Running Time: 80 min
The True Story of the Cabbage Patch Kids
Black Mothers Love & Resist
Director: Débora Souza Silva
Country: United States; Running Time: 102 min
Wanda Johnson and Angela Williams, mothers of young Black men victimized by police brutality, come together and build a network of community-led support, mutual aid, and healing in this documentary spanning Oakland’s Fruitvale to the American South. Long before George Floyd’s murder and the BLM protests in 2020, Oscar Grant’s 2009 fateful encounter with law enforcement on a BART platform seeded public awareness and cultural consciousness of systemic racism and its discontents. Paying forward lessons learned and advocating against anti-Black violence in memory of her son, Oscar, Wanda Johnson holds space for Angela Williams, whose teen son, Ulysses, survives a police encounter in Troy, Alabama, living to tell his story. Radical empathy fuels this timely exposé.
Body Parts
Director: Kristy Guevara-Flanagan
Country: United States; Running Time: 90 min
Body Parts traces the evolution of “sex” on-screen from a woman’s perspective, uncovering the uncomfortable realities behind some of the most iconic scenes in cinema history and celebrating the bold creators leading the way for change.
Cat Daddies
Director: Mye Hoang
Country: United States; Running Time: 89 min
A heartwarming collective portrait of eight unique men whose lives have been changed by their love for cats. Some of these men will navigate the unprecedented challenges of 2020 with the help of these feline friends.
Chop & Steele
Directors: Berndt Mader, Ben Steinbauer
Country: United States; Running Time: 77 min
When childhood friends Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett start booking their gag strongman routine on unsuspecting morning news shows, their pranks end up going viral, landing them in federal court with a vengeful media conglomerate.
Color of Care
Director: Yance Ford
Country: United States; Running Time: 50 min
Color of Care chronicles how people of color suffer from systemically substandard healthcare. COVID-19 exposed what they have long understood and lived: they do not receive the same level of care. The film traces the origins of racial health disparities to practices that began during slavery and continue today. Using moving personal testimony, expert interviews, and disturbing data the film reveals the impact of racism on health, serving as an urgent warning of what must be done to save lives.
Etowah
Director: Daniel Fox
Country: United States; Running Time: 120 min
By his own admission Duquette Johnston has lived a “wild, incredible life,” but even that might be underselling the 25-year journey that’s taken him from the spotlight with breakout 90’s indie band Verbena all the way down to the Etowah County Correctional Facility and then back to Birmingham, opening a clothing store in Woodlawn and releasing a critically acclaimed new record this year.
The Guardians (2018)
Director: Billie Mintz
Country: United States; Running Time: 104 min
An encore screening of the 2018 Sidewalk Official Selection The Guardians. An investigative documentary that examines the systemic abuse of elderly people in Las Vegas, Nevada exposing a cautionary tale where some of our society’s most vulnerable citizens are robbed of their life savings and freedom.
Jimmy in Saigon
Director: Peter McDowell
Country: United States; Running Time: 89 min
Director Peter McDowell chronicles the story of Jim, his eldest brother, and a Vietnam War veteran. In 1972, when Jim was 24 and Peter was only 5, Jim died under mysterious circumstances while living as a civilian in Saigon. Through over 200 of Jim’s letters, candid interviews with Jim’s friends and family, and filming of the truth-seeking journey that led him across the United States, Vietnam, and France, Peter creates an elegiac work that examines grief, family secrets, war, drug use, sexuality, and healing, amounting to a celebration of a short but powerful life.
Keep the Cameras Rolling: The Pedro Zamora Way
Director: William T. Horner & Stacey Woelfel
Country: United States; Running Time: 98 min
The story of Pedro Zamora, the charming young activist who transformed the face of AIDS in America by allowing MTV’s REAL WORLD to chronicle his joy, his influence, and his journey with a disease that would ultimately kill him.
Lover, Beloved
Director: Michael Tully
Country: United States; Running Time: 78 min
Suzanne Vega reinterprets two talks from Carson McCullers.
Loving Highsmith
Director: Eva Vitija
Country: United States; Running Time: 83 min
Based on Patricia Highsmith’s personal writings and accounts of her family and lovers, the film casts new light on the famous thriller writer’s life and oeuvre, permeated by themes of love and its defining influence on identity.
Make Me Famous
Director: Brian Vincent
Country: United States; Running Time: 93 min
A madcap romp through the 1980’s NYC art scene amid the colorful career of painter, Edward Brezinski, hell-bent on making it. Filmed in NYC, Detroit, San Francisco, Ireland, Berlin and the Cote d’Azur.
Manda Bala (Send A Bullet) (2007)
Director: Jason Kohn
Country: United States, Brazil; Running Time: 85 min
An examination of corruption and class warfare in Brazil as told through the stories of a wealthy businessman, a plastic surgeon who assists kidnapping victims and a politician whose income relies on a frog farm.
McEnroe
Director: Barney Douglas
Country: United States; Running Time: 104 min
John McEnroe finally tells his side of his storied career and performances on the court.
Mija
Director: Isabel Castro
Country: United States; Running Time: 85 min
Follows Doris Muñoz, who began a career in music talent management and met Jacks Haupt, an auspicious young singer, and both share the ever-present guilt of being the first American-born members of their undocumented families.
Nothing Compares
Director: Kathryn Ferguson
Country: United States; Running Time: 97 min
The story of Sinéad O’Connor’s rise to worldwide fame, and how her iconoclastic personality resulted in her exile from the pop mainstream. Focusing on prophetic words and deeds across a six-year period (1987-1993), the film reflects on the legacy of this fearless trailblazer, through a contemporary feminist lens.
Nothing Lasts Forever
Director: Jason Kohn
Country: United States; Running Time: 87 min
Hidden from public view, a war is raging inside the diamond industry. When filmmaker Jason Kohn infiltrates this highly secretive world, he uncovers a vast, far reaching crime that threatens the value of every diamond ever mined. At stake is nothing less than the universal symbol of love and commitment – the engagement ring. Featuring some of the most colorful and powerful industry insiders,
The Pez Outlaw
Directors: Amy Bandlien Storkel, Bryan Storkel
Country: United States; Running Time: 85 min
There was a period of time in the 90s when pez dispensers were worth more, gram-for-gram, than cocaine or even gold. During this magical time, a small town farmer and factory worker lived his wildest dreams, smuggling pez dispensers into the USA from Eastern Europe and making millions of dollars. It was all wonderful until his arch-nemesis, the Pezident, decided to destroy him. This is the incredible fish-out-of-water story of Steve Glew, the “Pez Outlaw.”
The Real Estate Mixtape
Director: Malik Yoba
Country: United States; Running Time: 100 min
The Real Estate Mixtape is an episodic, docu-series that follows actor, filmmaker and real estate developer, Malik Yoba, as he pursues his first commercial real estate (CRE) deal in New York. As the founder and CEO of YOBA Development, Malik, along with a diverse group of young, aspiring professionals interested in learning about the CRE industry, journey the often opaque world of CRE development. Malik will provide them awareness, access and advocacy as he works to navigate and secure his first deal.
Refuge
Directors: Din Blankenship, Erin Bernhardt
Country: United States; Running Time: 78 min
Refuge is a film about love and fear in the American South. Chris Buckley is a husband, father, veteran, and until recently, a leader in the KKK. He began hating Muslims when the planes hit the twin towers on 9/11, but is forced to confront his hate when he receives a text message from Muslim refugee, Dr. Heval Kelli. Heval lives in Clarkston, Georgia, a town that has welcomed refugees from around the world for over 40 years and is known as the most ethnically diverse square mile in America. Clarkston residents have survived persecution in their home countries, and now they find themselves threatened by a new kind of hate – American white nationalism. Will Chris overcome his hate or become a violent extremist like those he fought overseas? Can Heval and his town of refugees heal the hate they once survived in their home countries?
Searchers
Director: Pacho Velez
Country: United States; Running Time: 81 min
Alternately humorous and touching, Searchers draws on encounters with a diverse set of New Yorkers as they navigate their preferred dating apps, searching for their special someone.
The Smell Of Money
Director: Shawn Bannon
Country: United States; Running Time: 84 min
A century after her grandfather claimed his freedom from slavery, Elsie Herring and her rural North Carolina community fight the world’s largest pork corporation for their freedom to enjoy fresh air, clean water, and a life without the stench of manure.
Sophia
Director: Jon Kasbe & Crystal Moselle
Country: United States; Running Time: 89 min
This stirring and visually immersive documentary brings us inside the spirited pursuits of David Hanson, a restless inventor aiming to perfect the world’s most life-like A.I.
Subject
Directors: Jennifer Tiexiera, Camilla Hall
Country: United States; Running Time: 90 min
Discover how the subjects of some of your favorite documentaries — including The Wolfpack, The Staircase, Capturing the Friedmans and Hoop Dreams — were affected by sudden fame in the aftermath of their films’ release. Subject revisits the “stars” of these famous films to have a conversation about documentary ethics and filmmaker responsibility in a powerful film documentary fans won’t want to miss.
The Sun Rises In The East
Director: Tayo Giwa
Country: United States; Running Time: 58 min
The Sun Rises in The East chronicles the birth, rise and legacy of The East, a pan-African cultural organization founded in 1969 by teens and young adults in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Led by educator and activist Jitu Weusi, The East embodied Black self-determination, building more than a dozen institutions, including its own African-centered school, food co-op, newsmagazine, publisher, record label, restaurant, clothing shop and bookstore.
The Thief Collector
Director: Allison Otto
Country: United States; Running Time: 93 min
It was one of the most audacious and puzzling art crimes of a generation: the 1985 theft of Willem de Kooning’s famous painting, “Woman Ochre.”
Three Minutes – A Lengthening
Director: Bianca Stigter
Country: United States; Running Time: 69 min
A snippet of 16mm film offers an emotionally charged, meditative glimpse into the lives of the unsuspecting Jewish citizens of a small Polish village at the precipice of World War II.
Unrivaled
Directors: Norman Jetmundsen, David Crews
Country: United States; Running Time: 60 min
In 1899 Sewanee’s mountaintop football team played the South’s first 12 game season. They went 12-0 and, incredibly, traveled 2,500 miles by steam locomotive, playing an astonishing 5 games in 6 days. The story of the Sewanee Tigers and their season have all the hallmarks of fiction. Yet, as Sewanee Vice-Chancellor, John McCardell, has noted: “It’s more than lore — it’s true.” Unrivaled chronicles the incredible story of the Iron Men of 1899 and their historic season.
NARRATIVE SHORTS
A Cartoon of a Cat Sleeping
Director: Randall Christopher
Country: United States; Running Time: 7 min
A Fistful of Lead
Director: Dempsey Lee Birmingham III
Country: United States; Running Time: 12 min
A Nice Little Story
Director: Tyler Ross
Country: United States; Running Time: 8 min
Admit One
Director: Emma Aikman
Country: United States; Running Time: 8 min
After (A Love Story)
Director: Clare Cooney
Country: United States; Running Time: 14 min
Allie’s Out
Director: Akil B. Buggs
Country: United States; Running Time: 11 min
Ava
Director: Marcus January
Country: United States; Running Time: 9 min
The Bake Steal
Director: Wil Deusner
Country: United States; Running Time: 16 min
Baking Bad
Directors: Ben Swearingen, Nathan Fisher, Caroline McKenzie
Country: United States; Running Time: 16 min
Bite Me
Director: Mike Cunliffe
Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min
Blackout
Director: Andrew Reid
Country: United States; Running Time: 7 min
Blossoming
Director: Lauren Musgrove
Country: United States; Running Time: 9 min
Box on the Hill
Director: Erik Odom
Country: United States; Running Time: 8 min
Brick By Brick
Director: Tyler Downey
Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min
Bygone
Director: Mickey Tetrov
Country: Spain; Running Time: 8 min
The Cahaba River Killer
Director: Rico Shay
Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min
Canceled
Director: Christopher Guerrero
Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min
Ceaseless
Director: Benjamin Johnson
Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min
Cock N’ Bull 3
Director: Nathan Adloff
Country: United States; Running Time: 24 min
The Contract Musical
Director: Chris Cole
Country: United States; Running Time: 7 min
Convection
Director: Stacey Davis
Country: United States; Running Time: 9 min
Cruise
Director: Sam Rudykoff
Country: Canada; Running Time: 7 min
Deep Fears
Director: Ryan Chu
Country: United States; Running Time: 3 min
Desmond’s Not Here Anymore
Director: Mmabatho Montsho
Country: United States; Running Time: 16 min
The Devil Will Run
Director: Noah Glenn
Country: United States; Running Time: 11 min
Discovery
Director: Ashley P Causey
Country: United States; Running Time: 12 min
Don’t Be Scared
Director: Richard O’Connor
Country: United States; Running Time: 3 min
Don’t You Go Nowhere
Director: Bryan Poyser
Country: United States; Running Time: 8 min
Dot
Director: Tiffany Frances
Country: United States; Running Time: 11 min
El Rey
Director: Jonathan D London
Country: United States; Running Time: 9 min
Empty Handed
Director: Yasmin Nearor
Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min
The Event
Directors: Frank Mosley, Hugo De Sousa
Country: United States; Running Time: 12 min
Face To Face
Director: Sarah Coffee
Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min
First Drag
Director: Elliott Andreas Moe
Country: United States; Running Time: 11 min
Free Noir Papillon
Director: Lev Omelchenko
Country: United States; Running Time: 11 min
future boys
Director: Julian Clark
Country: United States; Running Time: 12 min
The F-Word
Directors: Alex Cannon, Paul Cannon
Country: United States; Running Time: 7 min
Galileo
Director: Ryan Gentle, Austin Quarles
Country: United States; Running Time: 13 min
Half-Day
Director: Morgan Mathews
Country: United States; Running Time: 17 min
How’dy!
Director: Keene McRae
Country: United States; Running Time: 20 min
I Did Believe In Her, “The Lady”
Director: Nick Adrian
Country: United States; Running Time: 9 min
In Memory Of
Director: Rico Shay
Country: United States; Running Time: 20 min
In Sickness and in Health
Director: Sarah Smick
Country: United States; Running Time: 11 min
In The Flesh
Director: Daphne Gardner
Country: United States; Running Time: 13 min
In-Between
Directors: Andrew Scofield, Tre Butler
Country: United States; Running Time: 16 min
Keep The Bugs Out Of My Soup!!!
Director: Tyrone Evans Clark
Country: United States; Running Time: 3 min
La Jaca
Director: Tanner Matthews
Country: United States; Running Time: 11 min
The Last F*cking Straw!
Director: Jason Michael Anthony
Country: United States; Running Time: 3 min
Last Request
Director: Daniel Thomas King
Country: United States; Running Time: 15 min
Lights, Camera, Covid
Director: Gal Ron
Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min
little trumpet
Director: Megan Trufant Tillman
Country: United States; Running Time: 26 min
Mom!
Director: Reagan N Swindler
Country: United States; Running Time: 6 min
Nikolai and the curse of the Kobold
Director: Amos Captain II
Country: United States; Running Time: 8 min
North Star
Director: P.J. Palmer
Country: United States; Running Time: 30 min
Nova Scotia Man
Director: Matthew Brdlik
Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min
The Perfect First Date
Director: Christopher J Hall
Country: United States; Running Time: 13 min
Phantom Tension
Director: Dennis Calvert
Country: United States; Running Time: 7 min
The Phoenix
Director: Regina Pigsley
Country: United States; Running Time: 15 min
Possum
Director: Erin Jackson Clark
Country: United States; Running Time: 8 min
Santa Doesn’t Need Your Help
Directors: Kevin Maher, Joe Dator
Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min
The Seal of Death
Director: Harris Josey
Country: United States; Running Time: 11 min
She Dreams At Sunrise
Director: Camrus Johnson
Country: United States; Running Time: 11 min
Shipwreck
Director: Lisa Cole
Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min
Shitshow
Director: Ryan Lilienfield
Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min
The Shocklosers’ Odyssey
Director: Zach Swiatocha
Country: United States; Running Time: 27 min
Shower Boys
Director: Christian Zetterberg
Country: Sweden; Running Time: 9 min
Skim
Director: William Pisciotta
Country: United States; Running Time: 18 min
Space Race
Director: Shane Dioneda
Country: United States; Running Time: 6 min
Spin
Directors: Brandi Nicole, Jen West
Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min
Spin
Director: Lisa Marie Tedesco
Country: United States; Running Time: 17 min
Steps
Director: Blake Winston Rice
Country: United States; Running Time: 15 min
Symptomatic
Director: Jay Burleson
Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min
Teddy Too-Big
Director: Suki-Rose Etter
Country: United States; Running Time: 2 min
Ten & Two
Director: Travis Wood
Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min
Things We Feel But Do Not Say
Director: Lauren Grant
Country: Canada; Running Time: 10 min
This Is How It Ends
Director: Gal Ron
Country: United States; Running Time: 13 min
Too Rough
Director: Sean Lìonadh
Country: United Kingdom; Running Time: 15 min
Turn Around
Director: Kyle Mackenzie Sullivan
Country: United States; Running Time: 1 min
Type 2
Director: Caroline McKenzie
Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min
unfinished
Director: Dailey Moore
Country: Czech Republic; Running Time: 8 min
Uno Royale
Director: Nathan Fisher, Kate Edmonds
Country: United States; Running Time: 12 min
UPYA
Director: Maxence Cazorla
Country: France; Running Time: 3 min
We All Die Alone
Director: Jonathan Hammond
Country: United States; Running Time: 14 min
When We Arrive As Flowers
Director: Susan C OBrien
Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
54 Miles To Home
Director: Claire Haughey
Country: United States; Running Time: 26 min
A Central Part of Who I Am
Director: Gabriel Kalil Talley
Country: United States; Running Time: 8 min
A Million Dollar Journey
Director: Nick Golden, Dawson Estes
Country: United States; Running Time: 11 min
A New Normal
Director: Britney Le and Victoria Sutton
Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min
Aftermath
Director: Hailey Millar
Country: United States; Running Time: 39 min
The American Frontier
Director: Edward Frumkin
Country: United States; Running Time: 16 min
Another World Right Here
Director: Sage Lucia
Country: United States; Running Time: 15 min
Aqueducts
Director: Álvaro Martín Sanz
Country: France; Running Time: 8 min
Ashima
Director: Dillon M. Banda
Country: Hong Kong; Running Time: 7 min
Barriers to Entry
Directors: Ritika Samant, Connor Campbell
Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min
Baseball’s Living Museum
Directors: Jordan Blankenship, Chelsie Budd
Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min
Betsy & Irv
Director: Nicole Noren
Country: United States; Running Time: 16 min
Brave Space
Director: Lillie Ben Harris
Country: United States; Running Time: 13 min
Breast Friend
Director: Aysha Wax
Country: United States; Running Time: 3 min
CANS Can’t Stand
Directors: Matt Nadel, Megan Plotka
Country: United States; Running Time: 19 min
Chasin’ Butterflies
Directors: Joshua Harding, Adam Hobbs, Matt Klug
Country: United States; Running Time: 19 min
Conducting Life
Director: Diane Moore
Country: United States; Running Time: 31 min
Dance To Me
Director: Sabrina Palmer
Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min
Decisions
Directors: Donte Johnson, Katherine Nguyen
Country: United States; Running Time: 12 min
Deerfoot of the Diamond
Director: Lance Edmands
Country: United States; Running Time: 27 min
Deerwoods Deathtrap
Director: James P Gannon
Country: United States; Running Time: 9 min
Drexell & Honeybees
Director: Angel Caro
Country: United States; Running Time: 6 min
Elvis of Laos
Director: Van Ditthavong
Country: United States; Running Time: 12 min
Exit 238
Director: Henry Davis
Country: United States; Running Time: 14 min
Favorite Daughter
Director: Dana Reilly
Country: United States; Running Time: 19 min
Heal The River
Director: Paulina Sobczak
Country: United States; Running Time: 22 min
If Cities Could Dance: J-Setting Atlanta
Director: Fr3deR1cK Jerome Taylor
Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min
Iron Sharpens Iron
Director: John Gallen
Country: United States; Running Time: 12 min
The JLB: 100 Years of Service and Impact
Director: Jenna M. Bedsole
Country: United States; Running Time: 32 min
Lalito 10
Director: Jordan Matthew Horowitz
Country: United States; Running Time: 17 min
The Last Last Hike
Director: Céline François
Country: United States; Running Time: 20 min
Liquid Gold
Director: William Green
Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min
Living While Black in Japan
Directors: Keith Bedford and Shiho Fukada
Country: United States, Japan; Running Time: 15 min
The Meaning of Movement
Director: Antonio R. Garcia
Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min
Monograph: Amari Ansari
Director: Kelsey Harrison Ianuzzi
Country: United States; Running Time: 7 min
Monograph: Chris Lawson
Director: Lisa Cordes
Country: United States; Running Time: 7 min
More Than I Remember
Director: Amy Bench
Country: United States; Running Time: 14 min
Mr. Ashley Lived Here
Director: Hannah Timmons
Country: United States; Running Time: 27 min
My Duduś
Director: Tom Krawczyk
Country: United States; Running Time: 8 min
The Net Makers
Director: Hannah Myers Lindgren
Country: United States; Running Time: 17 min
One Heck of a Game
Director: Karen DeLuca Stephens
Country: United States; Running Time: 18 min
The Originals
Directors: Cristina Maria Costantini, Alfie Kim Koetter
Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min
Pulled Over/Pulled Under
Director: Anissa Latham
Country: United States; Running Time: 17 min
Resilience
Director: Raven Shaw
Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min
Shut Up And Paint
Directors: Alex Ramirez-Mallis and Titus Kaphar
Country: United States; Running Time: 20 min
Smile Little Ladybug
Director: Laura Asherman
Country: United States; Running Time: 17 min
Soldier
Director: Justin Zimmerman
Country: United States; Running Time: 22 min
The Space Between You and Me
Director: Lily Ahree Siegel
Country: United Kingdom; Running Time: 23 min
Stories Within
Director: PJ Raval
Country: United States; Running Time: 11 min
Stranger at the Gate
Director: Joshua Seftel
Country: United States; Running Time: 29 min
Surviving Clotilda
Director: Olivia Grillo, Kathryn Jamieson
Country: United States; Running Time: 26 min
Surviving The Holocaust: A Conversation with Dr. Robert May
Director: Kim Garner
Country: United States; Running Time: 27 min
Sweet Home Alabama
Director: Frederick Murphy
Country: United States; Running Time: 18 min
Tin Sandwich Blues: A Musical Journey
Director: Erik Jambor
Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min
Underdogs
Director: Alex Astrella
Country: United States; Running Time: 15 min
Valentine
Director: Sinead Keirans
Country: United States; Running Time: 7 min
The Village That Once Was
Director: Tyrrell Shaffner
Country: United States; Running Time: 31 min
Visions
Director: Karina Lomelin Ripper
Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min
Wastewater: A Tale of Two Cities
Director: Sarah Franke
Country: United States; Running Time: 22 min
What They’ve Been Taught
Director: Brit Hensel
Country: United States; Running Time: 9 min
What We’ll Never Know
Director: Lauren Ready
Country: United States; Running Time: 16 min
When I Get Grown – Reflections of a Freedom Rider
Director: Chris Preitauer
Country: United States; Running Time: 32 min
Who Am I Called To Be
Director: Aniya Kinnion
Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min
WINN
Director: Joseph East, Erica Tanamachi
Country: United States; Running Time: 17 min
The Wintering Grounds
Director: Jeff Springer
Country: United States; Running Time: 23 min
ANIMATED SHORTS
A Prayer for My Mother: The Eva Brettler Story
Directors: Ruben Barrett, Raisa Effress, Sophia Evans, Lauren Fuchs, Katie Hadsock-Longarzo, Ian Kim, Eve Levy, Timothy Lim, Asher Meron, Marlon Ochoa, Bella Rahi, Hank Schoen, Olivia Uzielli
Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min
The Amazing Airwalker
Director: Steve McClean
Country: United States; Running Time: 6 min
Andy
Director: James Wheless
Country: United States; Running Time: 8 min
Beacon
Director: Clarke Stallworth
Country: United States; Running Time: 3 min
Blow Out
Director: Lucas Fraga Pacheco
Country: United States; Running Time: 6 min
Demi’s Panic
Director: Bill Plympton
Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min
Five Cents
Director: Aaron Hughes
Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min
Footprints in the Forest
Director: Juhaidah Joemin, Sandra Khoo
Country: Malaysia; Running Time: 18 min
The Girl Behind The Mirror
Director: Iuri Moreno
Country: Brazil; Running Time: 12 min
In The Mountains
Director: Wally Chung
Country: United States; Running Time: 6 min
Letters In The Wind
Director: Anirudh Aditya
Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min
Memento Mori
Director: Paul O’Flanagan
Country: Ireland; Running Time: 9 min
Morning’s With My Good Sis, Black Bird
Director: Mike McCraw
Country: United States; Running Time: 3 min
Paragons of Boulevard
Director: Yamin Rasheed
Country: Maldives; Running Time: 7 min
The Park Bench
Director: Rob Edwards
Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min
Qing Qong
Directors: Bele Marx & Gilles Mussard
Country: Austria; Running Time: 7 min
Seven Grams
Directors: Karim Ben Khelifa, TT Hernandez
Country: France; Running Time: 8 min
EPISODIC
Broken News
Director: Adam Schwartz, Luke Porter
Country: United States; Running Time: 32 min
LOST/FOUND, Season 1, Episode 1
Director: Brian Christopher White
Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min
Monograph: Adrienne Darnell
Director: Kelsey Harrison Ianuzzi
Country: United States; Running Time: 7 min
Night
Director: John D’Aquino
Country: United States; Running Time: 34 min
That Picnic Show with Nancy
Director: Nancy Tran
Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min
Updowns S.1 Ep 1 “Pilot”
Director: Tyson D Evans, Rebecca Brooks
Country: United States; Running Time: 16 min
Wipe Me Away
Director: Eric Piccoli
Country: Canada; Running Time: 11 min
TEEN FILMMAKER
38th Parallel
Director: Ejun Mary Hong
Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min
Bird Lady
Director: Carter Rostron
Country: United States; Running Time: 17 min
Boxy
Director: King Smith
Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min
cowpoke
Director: nicole hatton
Country: United States; Running Time: 3 min
Decision Day
Director: Goodman Murphy-Smith
Country: United States; Running Time: 9 min
Devil Bean
Director: Jessica Nipperess
Country: Australia; Running Time: 11 min
Is It My Fault?
Director: Benjamin Pacheco
Country: United States; Running Time: 13 min
Letters from an Avalanche
Director: Palavi Ahuja
Country: United States; Running Time: 16 min
Masterful
Director: Jason Leeper
Country: United States; Running Time: 13 min
Numb
Director: Chris Chaei
Country: United States; Running Time: 2 min
On the Second Floor
Director: Marco Araujo
Country: Spain; Running Time: 19 min
Reaper
Director: Eva Ulreich
Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min
SEM;COLON
Director: Anna Claire Hathorn
Country: United States; Running Time: 30 min
Those Who Run
Director: Nick Milczarczyk
Country: Canada; Running Time: 14 min
Uncommon Application
Director: Ris Igrec
Country: United States; Running Time: 17 min
When It Started
Director: Sydney Noelle Stephenson
Country: United States; Running Time: 6 min
Why Wouldn’t I Be
Director: Ella Greenwood
Country: United Kingdom; Running Time: 17 min
Wuhan Driver
Director: Tiger Ji
Country: United States; Running Time: 14 min
MUSIC VIDEOS
Angel Hilson – Just This Once
Director: Ken Stevenson
Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min
Aquarian Devils – Aquarian Devils
Director: Kamara Thomas
Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min
Between There and Here – Hrishikesh Hirway (feat. Yo-Yo Ma)
Directors: Prashanti Aswani and Hrishikesh Hirway
Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min
Dalby – Angelic
Director: Video Rahim
Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min
Don’t Deserve This – Yasmina
Director: Jivensley Alexis and Reece Daniels
Country: United States; Running Time: 3 min
Emily Rooker – Don’t Come Home
Director: Emily Rooker and Mitchell Carter
Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min
The Envied – Gondola Ride
Director: Alex Gibson
Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min
Gordy Bridgeford – Follow You
Director: John Utter
Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min
John Jupiter – The Plastic Outhouse
Director: John Jupiter
Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min
Jupie – Sandbox
Director: Jake Armstrong
Country: United States; Running Time: 3 min
Linqua Franqa – Bellringer
Director: Nolan Huber-Rhoades
Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min
Lule – Mood19
Director: Kevon Pryce
Country: United States; Running Time: 3 min
Malcolm McRae – Woman on the Move
Director: Keene McRae
Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min
Memphis Wilcox – Comeback
Director: Jason OBrien
Country: United States; Running Time: 6 min
Oliver Tree & Little Big – Turn It Up (feat. Tommy Cash)
Director: Oliver Tree, Alina Pasok Pasok, and Maxim Semyonov
Country: Russian Federation; Running Time: 4 min
Onry – 1955
Director: Martin Melnick
Country: United States; Running Time: 7 min
SÄYE SKYE – ADHD
Director: Sina Dolati
Country: Canada; Running Time: 5 min
Shovel – I. The Void
Director: Alexandros Papathanasopoulos
Country: Greece; Running Time: 6 min
Young Jahcee – GamGino
Director: J. Gino Cyrus
Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min
Zero Trust – Clouds
Director: Jeremiah Dickey
Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min
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