10 movies and more not to miss at this weekend’s Birmingham Sidewalk Film Festival
Ethan Hawke is among the stars of "In a Valley of Violence," the opening night film for the Sidewalk Film Festival.
Sidewalk Film Festival weekend is upon us, and once again, it’s time to figure out what you want to see and do at the many venues in and around downtown Birmingham.
You can find the full schedule here, but we’ve picked out 10 events that should give you a good idea of what the weekend is about, from food to music to workshops to, of course, many, many movies (more than 250 of them).
Here’s our look at the Sidewalk Film Festival:
SHOUT Festival. Opening Wednesday and running through the weekend with Sidewalk, SHOUT is an LGBT film festival featuring documentaries, shorts and other movies. The documentary “Kiki” kicks things off at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the nightspot Saturn.
Sidewalk Central Stage (Friday through Sunday, Third Avenue North between 18th and 19th Streets). Movies are being screened, but it’s here you can hear music live throughout Sidewalk weekend. Headliners include Kat Delacruz, Future Primitives and Sean Mac.
“In a Valley of Violence” (Friday 8 p.m., Alabama Theatre). For the first time, Sidewalk’s opening-night film is a Western, this one starring Ethan Hawke, James Ransone, Taissa Farmiga and John Travolta. Directed by Ti West, Sidewalk says the film is in the spirit of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. Can’t beat that, can you?
Opening Night Block Party (Friday after the opening film, Third Avenue North). The festival partying kicks off with Gip Gipson performing at 10 p.m., followed by Shaheed & DJ Supreme and Nerves Baddington.
Sidewalk Food Truck Rally (Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m., Third Avenue North between 18th and 19th Streets North). Hey, you’ve gotta eat, and you might as well have fun doing it. Many of Birmingham’s most popular food trucks will take part, pulling up to serve everything from hot chicken to Mexican to hot dogs to barbecue.
Raiders Double Feature. (Saturday, 1:40 p.m., Carver Theatre). Twenty-five years ago, a group of friends did a shot-by-shot remake of Steven Spielberg’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” This double feature, attended by one of those then-young filmmakers, will feature their “Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation,” as well as “Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Film Ever Made.”
Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie star in “Labyrinth.”
“Labyrinth” (Saturday, 5:45 p.m., ASFA Lecture Hall). Yes, it’s that “Labyrinth,” the 1986 film in which Jennifer Connelly tries to save her baby brother from the Goblin King (the late David Bowie). The 30th anniversary screening is part of the Sidewalk Family Film Festival.
“Casting Stars” (Saturday, 4:30 p.m., McWane Science Center). One of many panels presented by Sidewalk during the weekend, this one features Ash Christian, Bobby Miller and Melodie Sisk discussing whether it’s necessary to cast a star in your film for it to get noticed.
“Stay Hungry” (Sunday, 3:30 p.m., Lyric Theatre). Four decades ago, Sally Field, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jeff Bridges and others came to Birmingham to film an adaptation of Charles Gaines’ novel about bodybuilding. Director Bob Rafelson will attend the screening at the newly renovated Lyric Theatre.
“The Master Cleanse” (Sunday, 8:15 p.m., Alabama Theatre). The festival comes to a close with this film about a group of strangers attending a spiritual retreat. The all-star cast includes Johnny Galecki, Anna Friel, Oliver Platt and Anjelica Huston. The film is followed at 9 p.m. by Sidewalk’s awards show.
