Alabama’s first and only LGBTQ film festival celebrates its tenth year with the 2015 SHOUT LGBTQ Film Festival, August 29-30 in the theatre district of downtown Birmingham. Join us for two days of the best new independent LGBTQ films, along with panels, parties, workshops, and more.
Just out of jail, Sin-Dee Rella, discovers that her pimp boyfriend has been cheating on her. Sin-Dee and her BFF, Alexandra, set out on a hilarious, wildly chaotic trek through West Hollywood to confront the involved parties. Tangerine’s stylish energy, combined with a unique (and borderline surreal) ambience, are just a couple of reasons for the intense amount of attention the film received at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and since. Not just entertaining and fun, surprisingly, Tangerine is, at its heart, a kind and endearing tale of friendship.
Welcome to the oh-so-swanky South! Festival filmmakers and VIPs are greeted with high quality hospitality at the Historic Rucker Place for an evening garden party that would impress Southern Living. Sponsored by Historic Rucker Place, Savoie Catering, and SAGIndie. Complimentary beer and wine sponsored by Back Forty Beer Company.
Vintage Video Game Night service offers over 35 vintage game systems from the 70s to present with thousands of games, plus a large projection screen. We're breaking out the Intellivision, the SNES, the Sega Master System, the Colecovision, the N64 and more for some super-future fun. Sponsored by Saturn Birmingham.
Thursday August 27, 2015 9:00pm - Friday August 28, 2015 12:00am CDT
Saturn Birmingham200 41st St S, Birmingham, AL 35222
Sponsored by Red Mountain Park. Our current attractions include 14 miles of trails including two city overlooks, three tree houses, a 6-acre scenic dog park, and adventures like the Red Ore Zip and Hugh Kaul Beanstalk Tower. But this is only the beginning. As Red Mountain Park continues to grow, visitors and supporters like you make it possible for us to build an innovative park in a city that’s in the midst of a civic renaissance. We’ve got no small plans. We’re trail blazers for urban greenspace. Find out how you can Blaze Trails with us by supporting RMP. See tickets@sidewalkfest.com for reservations.
The rooftop of the gorgeous art deco Kress Building will play host to this year's donors, offering catering from James Beard award-winning chef, Chris Hastings of Hot & Hot Fish Club, cocktails, bocce, and a bird's-eye view of the Alabama Theatre. Sponsored by Hot & Hot Fish Club and Wiggins Childs Pantazis Fisher & Goldfarb. Complimentary beer and wine sponsored by Back Forty Beer Company. Entertainment provided by SHOUT BAMALAMA Soul Dance Party. www.facebook.com/shoutbamalamabham
Hear the hottest local music in Birmingham at B-Metro's Annual Magic City Mix, held this year at the Sidewalk Film Festival. Party with B-Metro and Sidewalk on Friday, August 28, on Third Avenue North in front of the Alabama Theatre, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Featured bands will include Mandi Rae, the Steel City Jug Slammers, and Future Elevators. This is a free event open to the public. For the complete Magic City Mix lineup, check out B-Metro's August issue or visit b-metro.com. Food will be available from Joe's Event Concessions, Magic City Sweet Ice, Big Spoon Creamery, Cantina on Wheels, Old Town Pizza, Wind Creek Casino's "Good To Go" Food Truck, and Johnsonville Brats Big Taste Grill.
In 1981 the biggest film in the world was Raiders of the Lost Ark. If you were in junior high in ‘81 you did not miss seeing Raiders in the theater, you might have even made several visits to your local non-stadium seated multiplex to catch Indy fighting the Nazis. The VHS tape from your local movie rental store was worn thin from multiple viewings and you were probably the proud owner of an Indy hat. In 1982, three ambitious Mississippi tween Raiders fans decided that multiple viewings and movie swag wasn’t enough and decided to recreate the beloved film - shot, by shot. Through relationship turmoil, stunts-gone-wrong, parental divorces and all of high school they worked diligently to remake one of the biggest blockbusters of all time. They cast the family dog as a Nazi, completed their own stunts, asked for props for holidays and set lots of stuff on fire. They remade a Spielberg film, all but one scene. 30 years later, they revisit their unforgotten dream and try to finish the movie. Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made is just that... and more; it’s a true love story, one of dedication, hard-won friendship and the heartfelt lengths that folks will go to for the love of filmmaking.
Block parties may be defined as a semi-fun, boozeless, soirée put on by neighborhood parents to provide their high-school age children with a “fun” and “safe” environment. Blah. What does Websters know anyway? This block party will be an ever popping, Indiana Jones themed celebration put on by your neighborhood cooler, older cousins. Complimentary food provided to all attendees, cash bar available for general pass holders, and complimentary beer and wine available for VIP pass holders. Sponsored by Regions Bank, Savoie Catering, Whole Foods, Avia Valet, and Back Forty Beer Company.
Grab a quick bite to eat in our VIP Lounge! Sponsored by Contin ental Bakery Downtown. Continental Bakery will remain open to the general public, and complimentary food will be served for VIP pass holders.
Tomgirl Dir: Jeremy Asher Lynch Girls play with dolls and boys love sports, right? This film takes a look at what happens when those stereotypes are called into question. RT 14 min
Actresses Dir: Jeremy Hersh A comedy about constructive criticism. RT 12 min
Adjust-A-Dream Dir: Jonathan Wysocki Trust issues are tested as a gay male couple shop for their first mattress. RT 6 min
A Kiss From Your Lips Dir: Allison Tate A young swing dancer looks for her perfect dance partner. RT 3:30 min
M4M: Seeks Love Dir: Barton Girdwood Bob Metcalf wants to find a boyfriend, but at 70 years old, he’s finding that’s easier said than done. RT 4 min
The Outfit Dir: Yen Tan A congressman is haunted by an outfit that won't go away. RT 12 Min
Abrase Dir: Toshadeva Palani The fading love of two men, remembered. A relationship once vivid, now dissipating into a fog of partial remembrance; the memories of heartbreak and loss that bend and change as the years go by. RT 7:15 min
Bambi Was a Boy Dir: Maria Beddingfield, Shaelyn Smith "Bambi Was a Boy" offers an intimate and immersive investigation into the shaping of Southern identity through one Alabama drag queen's process and experience. RT 11 min
Saturday August 29, 2015 10:00am - 11:10am CDT
Carver Theatre1631 4th Ave N, Birmingham, AL 35203
*In Partnership with Birmingham SHOUT and Continental Bakery, reservations required* On both Saturday AND Sunday, our ladies will shake flesh and souls while you brunch (read: drink) between downtown film screenings. See tickets@sidewalkfest.com for reservations, payment required upon arrival.
An August night in 2006, a fight broke out between 7 African-American lesbians and a 28-year-old man in New York City, which ended in the man being stabbed. While the local papers were quick to label the women as a “seething, Sapphic septet”, Out in the Night tells a different story involving self-defense in the face of violent harassment. While the film subtly reflects on the racism, homophobia, and sexism in the American judicial system, there is an intense focus on the personal experience of queer women moving through a flawed system.
*In Partnership with Birmingham SHOUT and Continental Bakery, reservations required* On both Saturday AND Sunday, our ladies will shake flesh and souls while you brunch (read: drink) between downtown film screenings. See tickets@sidewalkfest.com for reservations, payment required upon arrival.
The name Marco Collins may not be a household one, but the music Collins helped make famous as a DJ in early 90’s Seattle had profound and widespread influence on greater music culture. Kickstarting the careers of Nirvana, Weezer, Garbage, and Death Cab for Cutie made Collins a rising star in radio, but personal demons halted his influential career before it truly took off. Featuring interviews with Shirley Manson, Carrie Brownstein and Macklemore, just to name a few, Marq Evans's The Glamour & The Squalor presents an engaging biographical profile and a distinct coming out story.
On the heels of a break-up journalist David Thorpe makes his way through the typical post-relationship self-deprecation list. Most notably he discovers that he intensely dislikes the stereotypical "gay voice” and confronts the fact that he, himself, “sounds gay”. Margaret Cho, David Sedaris, George Takei, Dan Savage and numerous others help him question what it means to posses a stereotypical "gay voice”? And why does it exist in the first place? All while Thorpe works to repair his own vocal inclination. Do I Sound Gay? is an excessively watchable, incredibly entertaining, surprisingly intriguing documentary.
You’re Killing Me is the gay horror comedy no one knew they needed. Joe is coming out of the closet as a serial killer to his oblivious new boyfriend, George, who is more focused on achieving fame through his YouTube channel than worrying about his new bf’s pastimes. As George’s friends begin to disappear, he begins to realize he may not get out of this relationship alive. Equal parts gratuitous gore and irreverent humor and seemingly John Waters inspired, You’re Killing Me examines life (and death) while dating in an age of incessant snark and chatter.
"Last Christmas" Dir: Nathan Adloff RT 11 min. USA A suicidal young man finds a friend in the unlikeliest of places.
Bridging Ireland and Alabama, The State Of Being Human traces the roots of filmmaker David Merriman’s own admitted homophobia. Featuring conversational interviews with members of the LGBTQ community in both Ireland and Alabama, Merriman, who remains at the center of the film, works to revise his initially narrow viewpoint and to understand the true cost of bigotry. The documentary also features an unforgettable interview with Chief Justice Roy Moore. The 2015 Shout screening of The State Of Being Human marks the film’s world premiere.
Barbecue, beer, mini golf, mechanical pigs--what more could you want? Open to VIP pass holders and Saturday party pass holders. Spnsored by Alabama Tourism Department, Wind Creek Casino and Hotel, and Back Forty Beer Company.
Bored with small town life, Sarah is thunderstruck by the entrance of outgoing, exciting troublemaker, Pepper. What begins as an intoxicating collision of two very different lives quickly begins to evolve into something more substantial. But, like any collision, there is fallout. Natalia Leite’s feature directorial debut magnificently captures the excitement of insoluble crushing and places it against the backdrop of the wondrously neon-highlighted desert. Featuring Paz de la Huerta and Dianna Agron (best known for Glee) in her first feature film lead role, Bare premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year.
Whatever We Want to Be Dir: Stephanie Williams Pansexual playgirl Dylan is forced to question her free-spirited, poly-amorous lifestyle when enchantingly seductive Sam turns her world on its head. RT: 14:17
The Forgiven Dir: by François Chang Henry and Clement are in a relationship for one month in Paris. The last night before Henry goes back to London, where he studies, Clement comes to his hotel to surprise him. But when he arrives at the door, he hears that Henry is with another man in the room... RT: 15 Min
Elder Dir: Genéa Gaudet A documentary chronicling a forbidden love affair between a Mormon missionary and an Italian Communist in Pescara, Italy, 1974. RT: 13 Mins
Picnics Are Gay Dir: Whitney Hamilton A picnic business owner who is a single gay Asian with sociopathic tendencies, living in Alabama, seeks romance.... RT 5:39
Masculins Dir: Stephanie Young A portrait of three people who each have distinct masculine identities and embody transformation in very different ways. Through intimate cinematic approaches, the film identifies and embraces the human element in the deconstruction of gender binaries. RT 12:03
A Last Farewell Dir: Casper Andreas An alternative family drama about life and death. RT: 12:51
What is Perfect? Dir: Dmitry Zhitov "What is Perfect?" follows 6 artists discovering and uncovering beauty in their imperfections. This short documentary explores the hardships and dreams we all face in life. RT: 11:30
hopefulROMANTIC Dir: Benjamin Pollack An original musical film about one man's emotional journey through love, heartbreak, and healing. It's a universal story about loving, letting go, and holding onto faith that there's somebody for everybody. RT: 16:30
YOU. ME. BATHROOM. SEX. NOW Dir: Francisco Lupini Basagoiti A comedy about a man who tries to forget about love in all the wrong places. RT: 17 min
Sunday August 30, 2015 11:30am - 1:30pm CDT
ASFA Recital Hall1800 Reverend Abraham Woods Jr Boulevard, Birmingham, AL 35203
*In Partnership with Birmingham SHOUT and Continental Bakery, reservations required* On both Saturday AND Sunday, our ladies will shake flesh and souls while you brunch (read: drink) between downtown film screenings. See tickets@sidewalkfest.com for reservations, payment required upon arrival.
In celebration of the recent marriage rights victory, join us for a special 5th anniversary screening of An Ordinary Couple, featuring a new happy ending. Profiling Orin Kennedy and Bernardo Puccio’s 38-year relationship, the film opens with the couple, frustrated with the inability to legally marry, unveiling a 12-foot Kennedy-Puccio monument at their “funeral” in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. A non-fiction romantic comedy, An Ordinary Couple profiles the dashing couple but also discusses growing up gay in midcentury America, the impact of Proposition 8 and the true meaning of commitment. We’re thrilled to have Orin and (Birmingham-native) Bernardo in attendance for the screening.
In 1979, TV cameraman Trent Harris unexpectedly encountered Beaver, Utah native Dick Griffiths while out testing the station’s first video camera. Hungry for the spotlight, on the spot Griffiths’ improvised an eccentric character he coined “Groovin Gary”. Harris would later recreate this unusual experience in two short films, starring then unknown-actors Sean Penn and Crispin Glover. Together, these three shorts would be shown at Sundance as “The Beaver Trilogy.” But what happened to Dick Griffiths? Brad Besser's film follows the unusual and harrowing quest to find the long-lost “Groovin Gary.”
It’s a simple premise - a New York actress visits an old friend in Indiana to embark on a local road trip. Both women experience relationship-related stress to differing degrees, which leads to bristling between them. The film effortlessly blends genres, with partially improvised fiction, meditative interludes, and documentary-style moments. However, the truly refreshing aspect of Rosehill is that it allows for platonic sensuality between these friends while exploring need and desire in relationships. What evolves is a flowing, heartfelt story of the changing nature of friendships and partnerships as we age and evolve.
Family, classmates, and church friends gather to celebrate Henry Gamble's 17th birthday with a party that rivals Mrs. Dalloway's in sexual and emotional tumult. Struggling to reconcile his conservative Christian upbringing and blossoming gay identity, Henry floats between the conflicting worldviews of his party guests. As day stretches into night and once polite small talk grows in intensity, Henry's pool party reveals its attendees' clandestine affairs and discomforts. Writer/director Stephen Cone depicts evangelical church culture with striking precision in this familiar story of suburban secrets and lies.
A pre-awards ceremony reception thanking our filmmakers. Sponsored by Cantina on Wheels. Complimentary beer and wine sponsored by Back Forty Beer Company.
