Sidewalk Overview

So, it's been almost three weeks since the Sidewalk festival. It already feels like it's been much longer. During the event, downtown Birmingham seemed to be throwing parties right and left. Besides Sidewalk, the area hosted a jazz festival and a Greek food festival, along with an upstart film festival called Cakewalk (the founder says his purpose is to screen films that don't make it into Sidewalk, but some locals say this is a case of sour grapes). And if any theatergoer felt the need to rest his or her eyes, Sidewalk also featured a music café with live bands. There really was something to do around every corner.

I hate to admit it, but this was my very first film festival, so there was a learning curve, of course. Actually, things got started with a bit of ticket confusion. (Lesson learned: Don't listen when they tell you that you can pick up tickets at ANY venue—it's not true!) But all my friend and I suffered was a hasty and hot eight-block walk; we picked up the tickets and made it back to our venue warm and flustered but with time to spare before our first viewing. Aside from that, everything else ran pretty smoothly. What followed were two hectic, exhausting, and delightful days.

Another thing: It didn't pay to be too attached to the idea of eating regular meals. Films usually started a bit late, and then Q&As followed, resulting in 30-40 minute breaks between screenings, usually just enough time to get from one venue to the other, stand in line, find a seat, etc. Eventually we had to skip a screening because, you know, people have a way of getting hungry.

One last thing: Wow, I had no idea sitting and watching movies could be so exhausting. I was totally wiped out at the end of both days. And I never noticed how painful it can be to sit for so long.

Lest you think I'm complaining too much, let me just say that the fest was a blast. What really struck me about Sidewalk was its egalitarian nature. Sidewalk is an independent film festival, after all—there are no red carpets, and if you want to speak to a director, you go up to him or her and do so. Actually, the director of my favorite screening of the weekend (Danielson: A Family Movie) kept popping up at other screenings I attended. We must have similar tastes.

It's amazing that three of the films I saw (all documentaries) looked at the role faith plays in the various subjects' lives. In all of the films, people discussed the ways they felt God was working through them. This really became the message of the weekend, as I heard remarkably similar speeches from three very different people in three very different films. Two of the films were enjoyable (Danielson and Awake, My Soul). One was not (Jesus Camp). But more on those later, hopefully.