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Sidewalk Film Festival is produced by the Alabama Moving Image Association, a federally recognized 501c3 non-profit organization with a mission to inspire, encourage and support filmgoers, the city of Birmingham and the filmmaking community. In addition to hosting the annual film festival, we host monthly networking and educational events, a monthly documentary series, short film and screenwriting competitions, manage a youth board and a variety of other year-round programs. 

Tickets sales to our events cover approximately 1/3 of our annual operating cash budget, so we depend on corporate sponsors, grant-making organizations and individuals like you to survive. if you’d like to know more about supporting Sidewalk, please contact us at sidewalk@sidewalkfest.com.

Using Sched.org as our primary scheduling tool, we are happy to offer four different ways to view this year’s lineup. By hovering your cursor over the "Schedule" tab below, you can take your pick of a Simple, Expanded, Grid, or By Venue view. 

This schedule is subject to change.
ASFA: Recital Hall [clear filter]
Saturday, August 26
 

10:30am CDT

Documentary Shorts
Documentary Shorts
111 minutes

The Collection
- Adam Roffman
- USA
- 11.5 min
Two friends stumble upon the holy grail of movie memorabilia in the most unlikely of places.

All the Leaves are Brown
- Daniel Robin
- USA
- 11 min
A short film about memory, loss, family, and a sugar maple tree.

Slingers
- Adam Edwards
- USA
- 15.5 min
Explore the life of a small town beekeeper and his struggles to harvest an annual crop of nature's gold: honey.

Unmoving Derelict
- Steve N Bradford
- USA
- 9 min
Discover the history behind the defunct metal utilities in Washington, DC.

Deaners
- David Garry
- USA
- 19.5 minutes
A pilgrimage to the annual James Dean Festival in Fairmount, Indiana, as seen through the eyes of the cultural icon's die-hard fans, affectionately known as "Deaners."

Balloonfest
- Nathan Truesdell
- USA
- 6 min
Cleveland attempts to overcome its nickname, "The Mistake on the Lake," by launching over 1.5 million balloons.

Isis Hair Salon
- Nicholas Coles
- USA
- 5
Los Angeles hair stylist Carrie Banks has unwittingly been thrust into the war on terror, and she’s fighting back one braid, weave, and extension at a time.

Caviar Dreams
- Brian Gersten, Liv Dubendorf, Wei Ying
- USA
- 15 min
Delve into the complex world of caviar from its origins as peasant food to its modern status as an overfished delicacy.

Remembering Davey Allison
- Robert Clay
- USA
- 5.5 min
On July 12, 1993, NASCAR driver Davey Allison was fatally injured. Birmingham News photographer Joe Songer and Birmingham News sports columnist Clyde Bolton remember that fateful day.

Gut Hack
- Kate McLean, Mario Furloni
- USA
- 12.5
Josiah Zaynor, a former NASA scientist turned bio-hacker, seeks to rid himself of ongoing digestive issues by swapping his microbiome with a donor's.

Saturday, August 26th
10:30 AM
ASFA Recital Hall
Admission included with VIP, Weekend, and Saturday Day Passes. Premium Single Tickets also available.
Click here to buy festival passes.
Click here to buy premium single tickets for this screening.


Saturday August 26, 2017 10:30am - 12:20pm CDT
ASFA: Recital Hall

1:10pm CDT

Shorts: The Lighter Side
Shorts: The Lighter Side
91 minutes

Postcards
- Ines Pintor Sierra, Pablo Santidrian
- Spain
- 13.5 min
Ainhoa and Yon meet in a deserted beach and a summer love will grew between them. To keep the memories of their story alive, they decide to send each other postcards for a whole year.

Alternative Math
- David Maddox
- USA
- 8 min
A well-meaning math teacher discovers new ways of interpreting numbers.

Unpresidented
- Jason Giampietro
- USA
- 15 min
A New Yorker comes to regret betting on the 2016 election.

The Day Before
- Geoff Marslett
- USA
- 15.5 min
When a pre-wedding hunting trip in the Colorado mountains spins out of control, the soon-to-be happy couple must struggle to make everything right again.

Shy Guys
- Fredric Lehne
- USA
- 8.5 min
Two strangers confront and resolve one of the most insidious scourges afflicting mankind - while standing at public urinals with their willies out.

The Privates
- Dylan Allen
- USA
- 12 min
A band struggles with a radioactive energy in their music they can't control.

Gloria Talks Funny
- Kendall Goldberg
- USA
- 18.5 min
When struggling voice actress, Gloria, discovers her agent failed to tell her that her claim-to-fame cartoon is being remade, she sets her sights on reprising her role as the famous BioBoy.

Saturday, August 26th
1:10 PM
ASFA Recital Hall
Admission included with VIP, Weekend, and Saturday Day Passes. Premium Single Tickets also available.
Click here to buy festival passes.
Click here to buy premium single tickets for this screening.


Saturday August 26, 2017 1:10pm - 2:42pm CDT
ASFA: Recital Hall

3:30pm CDT

Dayveon
Dayveon
Directed by Amman Abbasi
USA, Narrative, 75 minutes

Amman Abbasi’s feature debut, Dayveon, crafts a compelling study of gang culture in an unexpected place--rural Arkansas. After the death of his older brother, Dayveon finds comfort in attention from members of a local gang. Although reluctant, he undergoes the initiation ritual, which changes everything. With a cast of non-professional actors and an authentic sense of place, the film has the air of a documentary. But a surreal musical score, gorgeous cinematography, and emotional storytelling come from a place of pure imagination.
- Charlie Sanders

Saturday, August 26th
3:30 PM
ASFA Recital Hall
Admission included with VIP, Weekend, and Saturday Day Passes. Premium Single Tickets also available.
Click here to buy festival passes.
Click here to buy premium single tickets for this screening.



Saturday August 26, 2017 3:30pm - 4:45pm CDT
ASFA: Recital Hall

5:30pm CDT

International Shorts
International Shorts
97 minutes

A Share of Share
- Kaveh Jahed
- Iran
- 1.5 min
In a refugee camp tent, a father objects to the fate of his family's food rations.

A Whole World for a Little World
- Fabrice Bracq
- France
- 15 min
A woman tells a fairy tale to her baby complete with princes and princesses -- only this story is more real than you can imagine.

La femme et le TGV
- Timo von Gunten
- Switzerland
- 30 min
Elise becomes an unexpected penpal with an unknown man on a passing train. But when the train line permanently detours, she sets out to find her pen pal. La femme et le TGV was a 2017 Oscar nominee.

Balcony
- Toby Fell-Holden
- UK
- 17
In a neighbourhood rife with racial tension, a local girl falls for a recent arrival.

Solitude
- Michael Raso
- Australia
- 7 min
Margaret visits her local train station every day in order to remember her husband, but how long can her memories last?

Outside
- David Javid Zaidov
- UK
- 15
- A short retelling of the final days of the British expedition to the South Pole in 1912.

Just go!
- Pavel Gumennikov
- Latvia
- 11 min
Inspired by the incredible true story about a young man, Just, who lost both of his legs in a childhood accident. When thieves rob his neighbor,Just pursues them.

Saturday, August 26th
5:30 PM
ASFA Recital Hall
Admission included with VIP, Weekend, and Saturday Day Passes. Premium Single Tickets also available.
Click here to buy festival passes.
Click here to buy premium single tickets for this screening.


Saturday August 26, 2017 5:30pm - 7:07pm CDT
ASFA: Recital Hall

8:00pm CDT

Mixtape: Music Videos sponsored by RentMonster
Mixtape: Music Videos
83 minutes

"Ain't Going Nowhere" by Kais
"Time Stops" by Starbenders
"Caskets" by Stoned Cobra
"Try a Little Tenderness" by Alice Tan Ridley
"Second Hand Lovers" by Oren Lavie
"Someone to Love" by Gabriel Tajeu
"Can You Decide" by Jon Kenzie
"Overcame the Sun" by Cloudy Busey
"Sounds Like" by C.A.m
"Rave On" by Holy Youth
"Celia Johnson" by Winterpills
"Comes a Moment" by Jonathan Cavier
"Mountains" by mac/glidden
"Plastic Flowers" by HaHaHa Productions
"Mortar & Pestle" by Raquel Lily
"Everybody" by Don Broco
"Clutchin" by Hirt Town
"Viva Adore" by Cavalen
"Arcadian" by Symbion Project

Saturday, August 26th
8:00 PM
ASFA Recital Hall
Admission included with VIP, Weekend, and Saturday Day Passes. Premium Single Tickets also available.
Click here to buy festival passes.
Click here to buy premium single tickets for this screening.


Saturday August 26, 2017 8:00pm - 9:23pm CDT
ASFA: Recital Hall

10:25pm CDT

After Dark Shorts
After Dark Shorts
85 minutes

The Call of Charlie

  • Nick Spooner
  • USA
  • 14.5 min

A trendy Los Angeles couple sets up a blind date for two of their friends, one of whom is an ancient evil deity vibrating with pure malice.

Eulogilia

  • Alex Grossman
  • USA
  • 11.5 min

Vivian Wilde writes eulogies for people in her life who are alive. With hopes of eradicating her malady, Vivian joins a local therapy group.

It Sucks to Be Me

  • Greg Heyman, Trey Fortner
  • USA
  • 3 min

A lonely man struggles with anger and bitterness as a result of his inability to making lasting connections with the opposite sex.

Kookie

  • Justin Harding
  • Canada
  • 13 min

Bree, a dishonest 9-year-old, receives a terrifying visitor after a parenting lesson goes horribly wrong.

Déjà Vu Deluge

  • Jasper Lee
  • USA
  • 10 min

A fever-dream vision of the Queen of Spain as a possessed sorceress who spreads death and disease among natives in the New World.

Teeth

  • Melissa Sweazy
  • USA
  • 10 min

Maddie gets a visit from the Tooth Fairy, who may be interested in more than just collecting her lost tooth.

Don't Ever Change

  • Don Swaynos
  • USA
  • 10 min

A reunion between a woman and her estranged daughter is interrupted by a stranger with an unusual request.

Night Digging

  • Terry Rietta
  • USA
  • 13 min

In this tale of Hillbilly Noir, liquor is sipped, lies are told and blood is spilled when a fallen small town golden boy catches up with an old friend while working in a graveyard.

Saturday, August 26th
10:25 PM
ASFA Recital Hall
Admission included with VIP, Weekend, and Saturday Day Passes. Premium Single Tickets also available.
Click here to buy festival passes.
Click here to buy premium single tickets for this screening.



Saturday August 26, 2017 10:25pm - 11:50pm CDT
ASFA: Recital Hall
 
Sunday, August 27
 

11:00am CDT

SHOUT LGBTQ Shorts
SHOUT LGBTQ Shorts
112 minutes

Make It Up

  • Courtney Hope Thérond
  • USA
  • 4.5 min

Tara and Jo were just having a moment...

Call Your Father

  • Jordan Firstman
  • USA
  • 19.5 min

On their first date, Josh and Greg must confront the generational divide in this insightful comedy about what it means to be gay in contemporary America.

Sisak

  • Faraz Arif Ansari
  • 15 min
Set in the fast-paced environs of the bustling Mumbai local trains, Sisak details a wordless romance that develops slowly and intoxicatingly, nestled in the silences and quiet comforts of the end-of-day train journeys between two men

What About Shelley

  • Kyle Reaume
  • 13 min
Billy and Shelley are best friends, but their friendship is greatly tested when Shelley's boyfriend, Adam, secretly comes out to Billy - the only other gay man he knows.

Sis

  • Dimitris Toulias
  • 11 min
Two estranged sisters, religious Fran and transgender Steph, reconcile their differences during the course of one night where honesty is the only policy.

Cock N' Bull 2

  • Nathan Adloff
  • 14.5 min
Wes and Chris, in couples counseling, have decided to explore opening up the relationship to spice up their sex life.

Huevos Rancheros

  • Brian C. Miller
  • 11.5 min
Lifelong friends, Danny and Marcus must confront their differences or allow it to finally drive a wedge in their relationship.

Imago

  • Liz Cardenas Franke
  • 8 min
The courageous, life-altering decision to never let anyone bully him again – not even his own father – leads a 15-year-old gay teen to fully embrace his true identity. Based on a true story.

Cecil and Carl

  • Elvis Leon
  • 15 min
Cecil has lived alone in a giant house ever since Carl, his partner of 43 years, was diagnosed with advanced dementia and admitted to a nursing home. Not about grand gestures of love or being gay, this story focuses on commitment and the duties that come with it.

Sunday, August 27th
10:45 AM
ASFA Recital Hall
Admission included with VIP, Weekend, and Sunday Day Passes. Premium Single Tickets also available.
Click here to buy festival passes.
Click here to buy premium single tickets for this screening.


Sunday August 27, 2017 11:00am - 12:52pm CDT
ASFA: Recital Hall

1:45pm CDT

Shorts: A Touch of Magic
Shorts: A Touch of Magic
93 minutes

The Witching Hour

  • Riley Geis
  • USA
  • 12.5

On Halloween, a fearful young boy is taken by the spooky girl next door on a haunted night of mischief and adventure.

Caw

  • Jeremy Lutter
  • Canada
  • 16

A shy teenager falls in love with the strange new girl at school, who always wears a mysterious red backpack.

Icarus

  • Tom Teller
  • USA
  • 20

When a Mars colony's comm satellite is damaged, Emilia Riley tries to repair it. When she loses her connection with her base, her son makes the knee jerk decision to go after her.

Interior Teresa

  • Meredith Alloway
  • USA
  • 14.5

When Teresa meets an intriguing boy while on sanctuary cleaning duty, she starts to realize that her life-long visions may be more significant than she knew. Inspired by the story of Saint Teresa of Avila.

Limbo

  • Konstantina Kotzamani
  • Greece
  • 30

The leopard shall lie down with the goat. The wolves shall live with the lambs. And the young boy will lead them. 12+1 kids and the carcass of a whale washed ashore…

Sunday, August 27th
1:45 PM
ASFA Recital Hall
Admission included with VIP, Weekend, and Sunday Day Passes. Premium Single Tickets also available.
Click here to buy festival passes.
Click here to buy premium single tickets for this screening.


Sunday August 27, 2017 1:45pm - 3:18pm CDT
ASFA: Recital Hall

4:20pm CDT

The Nobodies
The Nobodies
Directed by Jay Burleson
USA, Narrative, 86 minutes

The premise: Early 90’s Alabama, amateur filmmaker Warren Werner hosts a local premiere of his film, Pumpkin, shot on VHS for 600 bucks. The town is outraged, accusing Warren and girlfriend, Samantha Dixon, of engaging in satanic rituals. The two commit suicide. A documentary film crew begins investigating, but never complete the film. Pumpkin and the remaining doc footage are seared together to create The Nobodies. This celebratory screening doubles as The Nobodies Troma release party, surprises are expected. Stick around for a screening of Troma classic The Toxic Avenger to follow.
- Rachel Morgan

Sunday, August 27th
4:20 PM
ASFA Recital Hall
Admission included with VIP, Weekend, and Sunday Day Passes. Premium Single Tickets also available.
Click here to buy festival passes.
Click here to buy premium single tickets for this screening.



Sunday August 27, 2017 4:20pm - 5:46pm CDT
ASFA: Recital Hall

6:40pm CDT

The Toxic Avenger & Troma Celebration
The Toxic Avenger
Directed by Lloyd Kaufman & Michael Herz
USA, Narrative, 82 minutes

Justice is served and guts are spilled when a put-upon health club custodian is doused in toxic chemicals, rising as an inhumanly strong, hideously deformed hero with a natural instinct to fight crime. From thrill killers to corrupt politicians, no evildoer is safe when the Toxic Avenger sets out to clean up the streets of Tromaville, New Jersey. This special screening is a continued celebration of the Troma release of Alabama film The Nobodies and will include an all-out Tromarific toxic celebration.
- Cody Hamman, Arrow in the Head

Sunday, August 27th
6:40 PM
ASFA Recital Hall
Admission included with VIP, Weekend, and Sunday Day Passes. Premium Single Tickets also available.
Click here to buy festival passes.
Click here to buy premium single tickets for this screening.



Sunday August 27, 2017 6:40pm - 8:02pm CDT
ASFA: Recital Hall
 
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