The 26th annual Sidewalk Film Festival is kicking off on Aug. 19 for a week of movie screenings, networking, panels and celebration in the heart of downtown Birmingham’s theatre district.
Every year, Sidewalk Film Festival receives thousands of film submissions from independent filmmakers all over the country, hoping to see their work be screened at the event. Volunteers from Birmingham work to narrow down submissions and take about 250 films that will be shown at the festival.
We originally started small little at first, and eventually grew. Not just showing films from Alabama, but at this point, films from around the country and even around the world. If remember right, our submissions this year was [around] 16,000 films,” said Nick Adrian, the marketing manager at Sidewalk Film Center.
The yearly event doesn’t just draw in filmmakers. Sidewalk Film Festival also brings in thousands of film lovers to the Magic City to enjoy the work of these directors. Another aspect that makes this festival popular, Adrian said, is that it screens films directed by people of all ages.
“Whether you are a professional, a beginner… we have student shorts that are submitted. We have a whole section of the festival that's either made by kids or film students. It's really for everybody. You really do see like all walks of life around Birmingham that week, said Adrian.”
This year, Adrian sayid that film lovers can expect to see more films made by Black, female and queer directed films.
“This year is very exciting because this is the first year in the sidewalk history that our opening night film is going to be a narrative film by a Black director, and that's going to be huge,” said Adrian. “We have a lot, we have a lot of black directed films, a lot of female directed films, a lot of queer films. It truly is something for everybody and a big celebration of everybody.”
The 2024 Birmingham Sidewalk Film Festival is taking place Aug. 19 through Aug. 25. To learn more about the festival visit the event’s website.
