Birmingham’s Sidewalk Film Festival is back in 2024, with a full slate of events, including movie screenings, panel discussions and parties. If you’re a newcomer to Sidewalk, here’s what you need to know about the downtown festival, now celebrating its 26th year. Veterans? It’s time to go over the details, to make sure your plans run smoothly.

Dates

Sidewalk is officially underway, with “Spotlight Night” films, happy hours and other events planned Thursday, Aug. 22, at the Sidewalk Film Center and Cinema, 1821 Second Ave. North, on the lower level of Pizitz building. However, the traditional opening night of Sidewalk is Friday, Aug. 23, and the festival proper runs through Sunday, Aug. 25, at several venues downtown.

Venues

• Alabama School of Fine Arts, 1800 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd.
• Alabama Theatre, 1817 Third Ave. North.
• Birmingham Museum of Art, 2000 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd.
• Carver Theatre, 1631 Fourth Ave. North.
• First Church Birmingham, 518 19th St. North.
• Lyric Theatre, 1800 Third Ave. North.
• Sidewalk Cinema, 1821 Second Ave. North, lower level of Pizitz building.
• VIP lounge, Pizitz restaurant space, enter on Second Ave. North.
• Main box office and VIP pass pickup, The Gallery at the Pizitz, corner of 19th St. and Second Ave. North, enter from 19th Street side of building. See the festival map here.

Daily schedules

FRIDAY, AUG. 23

• Opening night pre-party, 5 p.m., 1800 block of Third Ave. North.
• Opening night film, “Exhibiting Forgiveness,” starring Alabama native Andre Holland, 7 p.m., Alabama Theatre.
• Opening night after-party, 9 p.m., 1800 block of Third Ave. North.

SATURDAY, AUG. 24

Movie screenings and other events at various venues, starting at 10 a.m. The schedule includes:

• “Maya and the Wave,” Alabama Theatre, 10 a.m.
• “Happy Campers,” First Church Birmingham, 12 p.m.
• “Era Oculta,” Carver Theatre, 3 p.m.
• “AngelHeaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex,” 5:15 p.m., Lyric Theatre, 5:15 p.m.
• “Chaperone,” Birmingham Museum of Art, 6 p.m.
• “My Name is Alfred Hitchcock,” Lyric Theatre, 8 p.m.
• “Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds,” Sidewalk Cinema, Theater A, 8:30 p.m.
• “Weeknights,” Birmingham Museum of Art, 8:30 p.m. (See the full schedule here.)

SUNDAY, AUG. 25

Movie screenings and other events at various venues, starting at 10 a.m. The schedule includes:

• “Fight Like a Girl,” Sidewalk Cinema, Theater B, 12:30 p.m.
• “Sabbath Queen,” First Church Birmingham, 1 p.m.
• “A Symphony Celebration: The Blind Boys of Alabama with Dr. Henry Panion III,” Carver Theatre, 2:30 p.m.
• “Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person,” Alabama Theatre, 3 p.m.
• “The Almost Lost Story of Tuxedo Junction,” Carver Theater, 4:45 p.m.
• “The South Got Something to Say,” Sidewalk Cinema, Theater B, 5:15 p.m.
• “Missing From Fire Trail Road,” Alabama Theatre, 6 p.m.
• “Playing to Survive: von Cramm vs. Hitler,” Sidewalk Cinema, Theater B, 8 p.m. (See the full schedule here.)

Tickets

Weekend passes are $125; VIP passes are $320; day passes are $45 for either Saturday or Sunday. Admission to Friday’s opening night film and party is $40. A Saturday night party pass is $30. Premium single tickets to specific films cost $15 apiece, and guarantee first access to admission to the screening. Admission to screenings is first-come, first-served, depending on the type of pass: premium single tickets first, then VIP, weekend pass and day pass. Advance tickets and more info available here.

General admission tickets are $10 per film, available at the festival box offices during the event. GA tickets have the lowest priority for seating — you have to wait until other ticketholders enter the venue before going in — but can be used for any film on Saturday or Sunday.

Parking

Street parking is available throughout downtown Birmingham, and is free after 5 p.m. weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday. Several parking lots and garages can be found downtown, as well. (Sidewalk suggests the Parkopedia site as a resource for parking locations, prices and other info.)

Shuttles

A free shuttle service runs on the festival site, 9 a.m. until 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Shuttles run “between the south end of the festival footprint (Sidewalk Cinema) and the north end (Alabama School of Fine Arts) with all stops being made on 19th St,” the Sidewalk website says. Also: “A wheelchair accessible shuttle is also available for door-to-door service between festival venues for guests who need this service,” the website says. “Lanyard bearers and ticket holders with disabilities will be able to pickup a business card for our accessibility coordinator upon pass/ticket pick-up at the central box office, which will include the number to call or text for service.”

Food and drinks

Food trucks will be on site. Also, several restaurants and coffee shops are available downtown, including the Pizitz Food Hall, Bistro 218, Trattoria ZaZa, Frothy Monkey, brick & tin, Tasty Town and The Yard at the Elyton Hotel. More info can be found in the Sidewalk FAQs.

History

The Sidewalk Film Festival (formerly called the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival) was founded in 1998 by Erik Jambor, Alan Hunter, Michele Forman and others who wanted to develop an independent film community in Birmingham and bring more indie movies here. The first edition of Sidewalk was held in 1999. Read more about Sidewalk here.

More info

Sidewalk has a website and posts updates on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).