Showing All 42 Events
RESISTANCE OF VISION is a touring festival comprising of four programs of social justice themed short films debuting this month in Boston, San Francisco, Wichita, and Birmingham. See below for details on each short, as well as a link for a virtual ticket option. *Note: The Virtual and In-Person tickets are non-transferable and can only be used for the format they were originally purchased for.*
The Sidewalk Film Center + Cinema is hosting Birmingham’s 14th Annual Salsa Showdown, presented by Rubio Law Firm – a fundraising competition to determine who offers the best salsa, guacamole, queso, and specialty dip. Admission will include sampling privileges at each competitor’s station, a ballot for casting an “Audience Choice” vote, a cooking demo, access to live entertainment, beverage vending, and the Hot Pepper Eating Contest with a cash prize. This year's Showdown will feature a vendor village. Thank you to our other sponsors: Renewal by Anderson, Shipt, La Jefa, Mi Pueblo Supermarket.
When Amy, Marina and Hanna’s rape cases are dismissed by the Austin police, all three women try to find a way to rebuild their lives. They join forces with twelve other women in a ground-breaking federal class-action lawsuit, the first to argue that sexual assault isn’t prosecuted because it’s a crime that predominantly affects women. The group is determined to hold police and prosecutors accountable for their inaction, but their resilience is tested as they face setbacks from the system they hope to change. Ultimately, AN ARMY OF WOMEN offers a hopeful look into a movement that aims to change the future for women everywhere. This screening includes a panel discussion after the film to raise awareness about the work of the Crisis Center and the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, and to hold space to honor survivors of sexual assault. *Ticketing for this event is on a sliding scale "Pay What You Can" structure. A portion of the proceeds will go towards supporting the Crisis Center. Seating is limited and first come, first served.*
All we can tell you is that it's a movie and it's bad. Join us for our celebration of bad cinema. Surprises + Fun and it's free! Grab a drink at our bar, you're going to need it. *This is a FREE event and SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED. Registering is strongly recommended to help with the check in process but does not guarantee a seat, and due to the popularity of this event seats can not be saved for folks who have not arrived yet. As always, our lobby bar & concessions are open to the public so if you arrive after the theatre has hit capacity please feel free to stick around for some food, drink, and board games.
Sidewalk’s Book + Film Club unites movie and book lovers for a monthly film screening and discussion about famous films and the people who make them. At the end of the month, we host a screening of a film related to the book and host a round-table discussion. Each session is $35 and the includes book, film screening, and discussion. Buy 3 or more months at once with the book included and get 10% off your registration by using code ‘3ormore' at checkout! Already have the book? Select the $15 option for access to the film screening and post film discussion.
Sidewalk’s Book + Film Club unites movie and book lovers for a monthly film screening and discussion about famous films and the people who make them. At the end of the month, we host a screening of a film related to the book and host a round-table discussion. Each session is $35 and the includes book, film screening, and discussion. Buy 3 or more months at once with the book included and get 10% off your registration by using code ‘3ormore' at checkout! Already have the book? Select the $15 option for access to the film screening and post film discussion.
Sidewalk’s Book + Film Club unites movie and book lovers for a monthly film screening and discussion about famous films and the people who make them. At the end of the month, we host a screening of a film related to the book and host a round-table discussion. Each session is $35 and the includes book, film screening, and discussion. Buy 3 or more months at once with the book included and get 10% off your registration by using code ‘3ormore' at checkout! Already have the book? Select the $15 option for access to the film screening and post film discussion.
Sidewalk’s Book + Film Club unites movie and book lovers for a monthly film screening and discussion about famous films and the people who make them. At the end of the month, we host a screening of a film related to the book and host a round-table discussion. Each session is $35 and the includes book, film screening, and discussion. Buy 3 or more months at once with the book included and get 10% off your registration by using code ‘3ormore' at checkout! Already have the book? Select the $15 option for access to the film screening and post film discussion.
Sidewalk’s Book + Film Club unites movie and book lovers for a monthly film screening and discussion about famous films and the people who make them. At the end of the month, we host a screening of a film related to the book and host a round-table discussion. Each session is $35 and the includes book, film screening, and discussion. Buy 3 or more months at once with the book included and get 10% off your registration by using code ‘3ormore' at checkout! Already have the book? Select the $15 option for access to the film screening and post film discussion.
Sidewalk’s Book + Film Club unites movie and book lovers for a monthly film screening and discussion about famous films and the people who make them. At the end of the month, we host a screening of a film related to the book and host a round-table discussion. Each session is $35 and the includes book, film screening, and discussion. Buy 3 or more months at once with the book included and get 10% off your registration by using code ‘3ormore' at checkout! Already have the book? Select the $15 option for access to the film screening and post film discussion.
Sidewalk’s Book + Film Club unites movie and book lovers for a monthly film screening and discussion about famous films and the people who make them. At the end of the month, we host a screening of a film related to the book and host a round-table discussion. Each session is $35 and the includes book, film screening, and discussion. Buy 3 or more months at once with the book included and get 10% off your registration by using code ‘3ormore' at checkout! Already have the book? Select the $15 option for access to the film screening and post film discussion.
*Title To be Announced Summer 2025* Alabama might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think about filmmaking, but the craft is alive and well in the deep south. Sidewalk’s mission is to encourage, inspire, and support filmmaking and the appreciation of independent film in Alabama, and one of the many ways we serve this mission is through the Alabama films track at the festival each year. These are films that were either shot in Alabama, were made by an Alabama-based filmmaker, or utilized Alabama cast and crew- sometimes all three.
*Title To be Announced Summer 2025* Black Lens aims to shine a light on some of the most outstanding narrative and documentary films directed by, produced by, and/or starring Black filmmakers. The films that are shown as a part of this program reflect the diversity of the Black experience in America and internationally, both past and present.
*Title To be Announced Summer 2025* Life & Liberty Films focus on historic civil rights events and modern-day human rights issues. The Life & Liberty track was inspired by the growing popularity of films covering these important issues as well as Birmingham’s own place in civil rights history.
*Title To be Announced Summer 2025* SHOUT was launched in 2006 and showcases features, documentaries, and short films that explore issues and situations involving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities. SHOUT is Alabama’s first gay & lesbian film festival and is proud to support the Magic City’s LGBTQ+ community by advocating for awareness, acceptance, and appreciation of diversity.
Afflicted with a rare and fatal condition that affects her ability to perceive time and causes sudden blackouts, single mother Frankie Rhodes relies on self-recorded cassette tapes to help her navigate the world. Desperate to make ends meet while she fights for custody of her young daughter, she accepts a risky but high-paying job from a mysterious woman, which draws her into a world of paranoid conspiracies that threatens to swallow her whole.
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The teasingly entwined ambiguities of love and death continue to fascinate Alain Guiraudie, who returns with a sharp, sinister, yet slyly funny thriller. Set in an autumnal, woodsy village in his native region of Occitanie, his latest follows the meandering exploits of Jérémie (Félix Kysyl), an out-of-work baker who has drifted back to his hometown after the death of his beloved former boss, a bakery owner. Staying long after the funeral, the seemingly benign Jérémie begins to casually insinuate himself into his mentor’s family, including his kind-hearted widow (Catherine Frot) and venomously angry son (Jean-Baptiste Durand), while making an increasingly surprising—and ultimately beneficial—friendship with an oddly cheerful local priest (Jacques Develay). In Guiraudie’s quietly carnal world, violence and eroticism explode with little anticipation, and criminal behavior can seem like a natural extension of physical desire.
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Join us at the Sidewalk Cinema for Monthly Movie Trivia from 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm, immediately following Networking Nights. Hosted by Owen Roberts. Invite your friends and school your contemporaries over some movie trivia. We'll see you there! *This is a FREE event and SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED.*
When a mentally ill young man thinks he witnesses an abduction and the police refuse to believe him, he reluctantly turns to his next door neighbor -- a bitter, retired security guard -- to help him find the missing woman. Sidewalk is proud to celebrate the release of this Birmingham-shot feature film with a one-night-only special screening.
Join us for our family matinee series on select Saturday and Sunday mornings. Come cozy in your PJs and from 10am - 2pm and enjoy light breakfast options for the whole family, plus a Bloody Mary and Mimosa bar for the grown-ups.
Join us for our family matinee series on select Saturday and Sunday mornings. Come cozy in your PJs and from 10am - 2pm and enjoy light breakfast options for the whole family, plus a Bloody Mary and Mimosa bar for the grown-ups.
Batman must face The Penguin, a sewer-dwelling gangleader intent on being accepted into Gotham society. Meanwhile, another Gotham resident finds herself transformed into Catwoman and is out for revenge…
In an isolated family mansion, a group of rich 20-somethings decides to play Bodies Bodies Bodies, a game where one of them is secretly a “killer” while the rest tries to “escape”. Things take a turn for the worse when real bodies start turning up, setting off a paranoid and dangerous chain of events.
A vampire relates his epic life story of love, betrayal, loneliness, and dark hunger to an over-curious reporter.
Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? 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. *This is a free event. Reservations are strongly recommended but not required. Seating is first come, first served*
A young beautician, newly arrived in a small Louisiana town, finds work at the local salon, where a small group of women share a close bond of friendship, and welcome her into the fold.
It’s Christmas Eve in Tinseltown and Sin-Dee is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend hasn’t been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, the working girl and her best friend, Alexandra, embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumor. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles, including an Armenian family dealing with their own repercussions of infidelity. *This is a free event. Reservations are strongly recommended but not required. Seating is first come, first served*
Aspiring director Corky St. Clair and the marginally talented amateur cast of his hokey small-town musical production go overboard when they learn that Broadway theater agent Mort Guffman will be in attendance. *This is a free event. Reservations are strongly recommended but not required. Seating is first come, first served*
When Earth becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper, is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans.
Join us for an exclusive members-only screening of The Big Lebowski. Enjoy free beer from Cahaba Brewing Company or sip some wine from Vineyard Brands wine and relive this timeless classic at Sidewalk Cinema. You will also be able to pick up your membership perks before the screening. Seats are limited, so grab yours now. SIGN INTO YOUR MEMBER PORTAL FOR TICKETS TO BECOME AVAILABLE.
Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advanced super computer.
Foreign Legion officer Galoup recalls his once glorious life, training troops in the Gulf of Djibouti. His existence there was happy, strict and regimented, until the arrival of a promising young recruit, Sentain, plants the seeds of jealousy in Galoup’s mind.
The story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.
Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family up to the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.
In 1936, archaeologists and adventurers of the U.S. government hired Indiana Jones to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis could obtain its extraordinary powers.
A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.
Tough narcotics detective ‘Popeye’ Doyle is in hot pursuit of a suave French drug dealer who may be the key to a huge heroin-smuggling operation.
After being rejected by the Confederate military, not realizing it was due to his crucial civilian role, an engineer must single-handedly recapture his beloved locomotive after it is seized by Union spies and return it through enemy lines.
After World War I, Armistice Lloyd Hart goes back to practice law, former saloon keeper George Hally turns to bootlegging, and out-of-work Eddie Bartlett becomes a cab driver. Eddie builds a fleet of cabs through delivery of bootleg liquor and hires Lloyd as his lawyer. George becomes Eddie’s partner and the rackets flourish until love and rivalry interfere.
With the ghosts of cinema past leading his way, cinephile and filmmaker David Redmon sets off on a seemingly quixotic quest to find a legendary lost video collection of 55,000 movies in Sicily. For two decades, New York City cinephiles had access to a treasure trove of rare and esoteric films through Kim's Video. Originally run by the enigmatic Yongman Kim out of his dry-cleaning business, his franchise eventually amassed 55,000 rental titles. In 2008, facing a changing industry, Mr. Kim offered to give away his collection provided that it stay intact and be available to Kim's Video members. In a bid to revitalize tourism, the small Italian village of Salemi, Sicily became home to the archive. But after the initial publicity faded, so too did any sign of the collection. Enter filmmaker David Redmon, who credits Kim's Video for his film education. With the ghosts of cinema past leading his way, Redmon embarks on a seemingly quixotic quest to track down what happened to the legendary collection and to free it from purgatory. David Redmon and Ashley Sabin's playful documentary embraces various filmic forms, from cine-essay and investigative nonfiction to experimental cinema and even heist movies, to fashion an ode to the love of cinema and the enduring power its stories hold. Join us for a Q&A with the film's directos after the screening. The Southern Circuit a program of South Arts and is made possible through a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
Filmmaking amateurs and pros alike compete for a grand prize in our weekend long filmmaking competition. Teams will take on 48 hours of writing, directing, and editing your own short film from scratch May 2-4. CASH PRIZES for Jury and Audience award winners + screening during the 27th Annual Sidewalk Film Festival. More details below.
In an eerie, deceptively placid near-future, a techno-entrepreneur named Karsh (Vincent Cassel) has developed a new software that will allow the bereaved to bear witness to the gradual decay of loved ones dead and buried in the earth. While Karsh is still reeling from the loss of his wife (Diane Kruger) from cancer—and falling into a peculiar sexual relationship with his wife’s sister (also Kruger)—a spate of vandalized graves utilizing his “shroud” technology begins to put his enterprise at risk, leading him to uncover a potentially vast conspiracy. Written following the death of the director’s wife, the new film from David Cronenberg is both a profoundly personal reckoning with grief and a descent into noir-tinged dystopia, set in an ominous world of self-driving cars, data theft, and A.I. personal assistants. Offering Cronenberg’s customary balance of malevolence and wit, The Shrouds is a sly and thought-provoking consideration of the corporeal and the digital, the mortal and the infinite.
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Written and directed by Iraq War veteran Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland (Civil War, 28 Days Later), Warfare embeds audiences with a platoon of American Navy SEALs in the home of an Iraqi family, overwatching the movement of US forces through insurgent territory. A visceral, boots-on-the-ground story of modern warfare, told like never before: in real time and based on the memory of the people who lived it.
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Showing All 42 Events
We produce the nationally recognized Sidewalk Film Festival; organize a wide variety of educational programs for filmmakers and hold other events that create interest in and enthusiasm for independent film. To expand on this work and better serve our mission we have opened the Sidewalk Film Center + Cinema, a two-screen independent movie theater in the heart of Birmingham’s historic theatre district.