Established in 1999 as the flagship program of the Sidewalk Film Center + Cinema, Sidewalk Film Festival has perfected its own personal trifecta of quality film programming, filmmaker networking, and pure fun. Repeatedly recognized by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the Top 25 Festivals in the World and by TIME Magazine as one of the Top 10 Festivals for the Rest of Us, Sidewalk annually brings over 300 films to The Magic City. Low-priced passes, a concentrated footprint, and Southern Hospitality encourage filmmakers and attendees alike to connect during the festival week.

Sidewalk actively strives to bring a variety of film to its audience. To that end, we are thrilled to highlight civil and social issues in our Life & Liberty track, diversity-related topics and black filmmakers in our Black Lens track, LGBTQ filmmakers and content with our SHOUT track, and family-friendly programming with our Family Festival track. As an Alabama festival in a city with multiple universities, we also spotlight our Alabama filmmakers and our student filmmakers.

Sidewalk is pleased to announce the return of our Sidewrite Competition for 2025. With categories for feature length screenplays, short screenplays, and Alabama screenplays, Sidewalk is looking for innovative and exciting scripts to recognize. In addition to cash prizes, winners are read at our table read during the festival weekend. Winning scripts are announced approximately one month prior to the festival event date. Sidewalk also offers a screenplay category that provides feedback on any submitted screenplay. Please use the Screenplay + Feedback category for this option.

Praise for Sidewalk:

MovieMaker Magazine: "Top 50 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee" (2024, 2017, 2016)
MovieMaker Magazine: “The 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World” (2023, 2015, 2014)
MovieMaker Magazine: "20 Great Film Festivals For First Time Moviemakers" (2022)
The Washington Post: "Summer Preview" Film Festival (2015)
USA TODAY: "One of the Top 10 Places for a Fabulous Film Festival” (2013)
TIME Magazine: "Top 10 Festivals for the Rest of Us" (2006)

JURY AND PROGRAMMER'S AWARDS
Jambor-Franklin Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature $1,000
Best Documentary Feature $1,000
Best Narrative Short $500
Best Documentary Short $500
Best Animated Film $250
Best Student Film $250
Alan Hunter Best Alabama Film $500
Best SHOUT Feature $500
Best SHOUT Short $250
Best Black Lens Feature $500
Best Black Lens Short $250
Feature Programmers' Award $500
Short Programmers' Award $250

AUDIENCE AWARDS
Best Narrative Feature
Best Documentary Feature
Best Narrative Short
Best Documentary Short
Best Shout Film (Feature or Short)
Best Alabama Film (Feature or Short)
Best Black Lens Film (Feature or Short)

SCREENPLAY AWARDS
Best Feature Screenplay $500
Best Short Screenplay $250
Best Alabama Feature Screenplay $500
Best Alabama Short Screenplay $250

(SIDEWALK FILM FESTIVAL RESERVES THE RIGHT TO ALTER OUR AWARD CATEGORIES BASED ON OUR SUBMISSIONS.)

ELIGIBILITY
Entrants warrant that they have the legal right to submit the work to Sidewalk, that all statements made in this application are true and accurate, and that all necessary rights and clearances have been secured to screen the work at the festival. Due to potential copyright issues, Sidewalk will be unable to consider fan fiction/fan films without express written permission from the primary copyright holder. Sidewalk reserves the right to determine the final eligibility of any work submitted. Eligible works must have been completed after January 1, 2023. Films containing any other language than English must have English subtitles.

Exhibiting films publicly in the Greater Birmingham Metropolitan Area prior to or within one week after the 2025 festival dates will prevent your film from competing in the 2025 Sidewalk Film Festival and may prevent the film from being accepted to the Festival. This includes projects available on the web. Work accepted to screen at the Festival will be categorized in competitive and non-competitive categories at the sole discretion of Sidewalk. Programmers will assess and assign your films or script to the appropriate category if miscategorized by the submitter. If your submission will be available through a video on demand (VOD) or pay-per-view (PPV) service of any kind, on or before August 18, 2025, please indicate such when entering. The availability of your film prior to August 18, 2025 through such a service will make the film ineligible for competition and may or may not prevent the film from being programmed. Availability through such a service will be considered during the programming process and may impact programming decisions. However, decisions regarding programming films that have been screened elsewhere and/or are available through a video on demand service, pay-per-view service, and/or any other service, venue, channel, theater or otherwise are solely up to the Sidewalk Film Festival staff.

EXHIBITION AGREEMENT & PRINT TRAFFIC
Submission to the Sidewalk Film Festival ("Sidewalk") constitutes an agreement with all festival terms and conditions, and permission to exhibit the work during the festival if selected. The Sidewalk Film Festival does not pay screening fees for submitted films. By submitting your project, you acknowledge that Sidewalk will not pay to present your work.

If a film is accepted, entrant agrees to provide exhibition materials to the festival at their own expense, to be delivered digitally by August 1st, 2025. Sidewalk can only provide return shipping via ground delivery within the continental United States. Although every possible care will be taken with exhibition material in our possession, neither Sidewalk nor the Sidewalk Film Center and Cinema, Inc. accepts responsibility for loss or damage. Entry fees are non-refundable.

ALABAMA DISCOUNT

ALABAMA25: A 30% discount for Alabama-produced films or screenplays. Alabama Productions include films that have been fully or partially filmed and/or produced in the state of Alabama. Partial Alabama productions must include at least 1 scene filmed in Alabama and/or at least 20% of the total budget spent in the state of Alabama. Alternatively a film that has the participation of at least 1 above the line filmmaker (Director, Writer, Producer, Editor, Actor in a starring role) that currently lives in the state of Alabama and/or is an Alabama native can be considered an Alabama film. Alabama scripts include screenplays where a credited screenwriter that currently lives in the state of Alabama and/or is an Alabama native. If you misuse this code, you will be automatically disqualified without refund.

ALUMNI DISCOUNT

If your short or feature film has screened at Sidewalk Film Festival in the past, please email allan@sidewalkfest.com with your film’s title and the year it screened to receive an alumni discount.

All questions regarding discount codes and other waiver requests should be directed to Allan Monterrubio at allan@sidewalkfest.com.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • ravi steve

    An amazing festival and we were thrilled and honoured to screen our work here. We were not able to attend in person, but the fest does a great job with their online presence. Recommend submitting.

    December 2024
  • Lee Ricks

    I really didn't want to leave a bad review on the page, but after multiple emails, calls, and even FB messages, I feel like this needs to be said now. I could not attend in person, but getting my info and the file to them went great. Communication was fantastic leading up to the festival. I was very excited to win Best Animation award (which is displayed on the festival website now, and that's how I found out I won), but I was shocked not to have received a notification of my win, nor laurels, and no update on the situation with prize money. It has been over 2 months now and I've not gotten any updates. I understand that things can be busy and possibly people were on vacation or something, so I wanted to give the benefit of the doubt. A big thanks to the person running the FB page who gave me someone to email directly, but I have not heard back from him since I emailed him 6 days ago. I told them so yesterday, but now no response there, too. This was after the 3rd attempt to contact someone via email, and after the 4th phone call that went unanswered. In all the festivals I've placed, I've always gotten an email notification and an update at least 3 days after the festival ends, and it still hasn't happened. I wanted to give this festival a chance because I am a native Alabamian, and had lived in the Birmingham area for several years before pursuing my Masters in the UK. After this, I'm hesitant to recommend it.

    October 2024
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    HI Lee,

    First and foremost, my apologies for any failures of communication on our end.

    Will you please email me directly at chloe@sidewalkfest.com so that we can get this issue resolved for you ASAP.

    Thanks-
    Chloe Cook
    Executive Director

  • Chance Calloway

    No one from our team was able to make it, but we felt included and celebrated thanks to the communication and updates provided. Grateful.

    September 2024
  • Tal Amiran

    I was sadly not able to attend the festival, but communication with the festival was excellent, and I was honoured that my short doc 'Weree' screened at this fantastic festival in the Shorts: Black Lens Documentary programme.
    As a festival alumni, it feels great to be screening at this fantastic festival for the second time.
    I would love to return to Sidewalk FF with my next film and hopefully attend in person, too!

    September 2024
  • Every client we've had that's attended Sidewalk Film Festival is always itching to go back - they go hard with hospitality and a great programme. We were very fortunate to have 4 films screen from our slate this year:

    🎬 A.A.
    🎬 Family Portrait of the Black Earth
    🎬 Seahorse Parents
    🎬 Stalking The Bogeyman

    September 2024