
The Birmingham-based Sidewalk Film Festival announced the complete lineup for the 24th edition of the film festival taking place August 22-28.

The Birmingham-based Sidewalk Film Festival announced the complete lineup for the 24th edition of the film festival taking place August 22-28.

The 23rd edition of Sidewalk Film Festival, the Birmingham-based film festival will take place August 23-29, 2021, with Jeff Daniels’ Television Event as the Opening Night film and Jim Cummings and PJ McCabe’s The Beta Test will be the Closing Night screening.

This year’s All Drive-in Edition of the Sidewalk Film Festival which ran August 24-30, announced the awards winners. The Audience Awards for Best Narrative Feature went to The Killing Of Kenneth Chamberlain directed by Dwight Cameron; and for Best Documentary Feature to Transhood directed by Sharon Liese. Transhood also won the prize for Best SHOUT Feature.

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.

It’s been almost 90 years since the first drive-in movie theater opened in New Jersey in 1933, and thanks to the coronavirus, they are making a trendy comeback. During this time, festivals have had to find creative ways to showcase films, many opting for virtual cinemas and online screenings. The drive-in experience allows film-lovers and movie-goers to indulge in the community-shared experience that cinemas provide while also social distancing and staying safe. Check out the drive-in film festivals and their featured titles, happening between July and August.

The coronavirus, (COVID-19) pandemic is having a devastating impact on film festivals with many postponing or cancelling outright. Major festivals such as San Francisco International Film Festival and RiverRun International Film Festival have canceled, while others such as Richmond International Film Festival and Florida Film Festival have been postponed until the Summer or Fall.
Wide Tide: The Legend of Culebra[/caption]
Wide Tide: The Legend of Culebra, directed by Theo Love, will open the 20th Annual Sidewalk Film Festival, on Friday, August 24 at the beautiful Alabama Theatre. White Tide tells the larger-than-life story of a desperate Florida familyman who goes on a wild treasure hunt for $2 million worth of cocaine. The fast-paced, stylish, fun and poignant rollercoaster ride of a documentary is the perfect kickoff to Birmingham’s best weekend of the year. Director Theo Love is a Sidewalk Film Festival alum and Producer Bryan Storkel, a regular attendee since 2007, has screened 6 films at Sidewalk.
The festival revealed the first feature film selections – Support the Girls directed by Andrew Bujalski, If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynard directed by Stephen Kijak and Damsel directed by David Zellner and Nathan Zellner.
Support the Girls
Director: Andrew Bujalski
Narrative / Run Time: 90 Minutes / USA
Starring: Regina Hall, Haley Lu Richardson, Dylan Gelula, James Le Gros
The general manager at a highway-side ”sports bar with curves” has her incurable optimism and faith, in her girls, her customers, and herself, tested over the course of a long, strange day.
If I Leave Here Tomorrow:A Film About Lynyrd Skynard
Director: Stephen Kijak
Documentary / Run Time: 95 Minutes / USA
The authorized documentary explores the music and backstory of the legendary American band.
Damsel
Directors: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner
Narrative / Run Time: 113 Minutes / USA
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska and David Zellner
It’s the Wild West, circa 1870. Samuel Alabaster, an affluent pioneer, ventures across the American frontier to marry the love of his life, Penelope. As his group traverses the west, the once-simple journey grows treacherous, blurring the lines between hero, villain and damsel.
The South Eastern premiere of Ti West’s The Innkeepers will serve as the Opening Night Film of the 2011 Sidewalk Film Festival and will screen at the beautiful 2,200 seat Alabama Theatre.
Described as one of the most exciting and original filmmakers on the independent scene today, Ti West (The Roost, Trigger Man and The House of the Devil) directs, edits and co-produces his original screenplay about two employees of a soon-to-be-closed hotel, who get more than they bargained for when they set out to prove that the hotel is as haunted as its reputation, in The Innkeepers. The film stars Sara Paxton, Pat Healy and Kelly McGillis.
After over one hundred years of service, The Yankee Pedlar Inn is shutting its doors for good. The last remaining employees – Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy)- are determined to uncover proof of what many believe to be one of New England’s most haunted hotels. As the Inn’s final days draw near, odd guests check in as the pair of minimum wage “ghost hunters” begin to experience strange and alarming events that may ultimately cause them to be mere footnotes in the hotel’s long unexplained history.
The Innkeepers made its World Premiere at SXSW in March of 2011 and was an official selection of the 2011 LA Film Festival.