Sidewalk Film Festival events start Aug. 19

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) – Starting on Monday, all eyes will be on Birmingham and its theater screens at the 26th annual Sidewalk Film Festival. It’s a week of cinema excellence that will feature more than 200 films, filmmakers, Q&As and networking events.

Sidewalk Film Festival Executive Director Chloe Cook joined CBS 42 Morning News on Sunday to talk about the events. Cook said a small group of people started to make this possible 26 years ago.

“There were a couple of local filmmakers who were going out to other film festivals across the country and thought ‘Why not Birmingham?’” Cook said. “They put a lot of hard work and effort into making one happen for our city and really wanted to make that be in the downtown historic theatre district.”

This year’s schedule features:

Monday: Alabama filmmaker spotlight

Tuesday: Civil human rights

Wednesday: LGBTQ

Thursday: Black Lens

Friday: Opening night showcasing “Exhibiting Forgiveness”

“All of the filmmakers are present, and you get a chance to interact with them following their films and the Q&A,” Cook said. “I think it adds that third dimension to the film viewing experience versus viewing it in a regular theater on a regular night for date night or at home on our TV.”

If you’ve never been out to something like this, Cook said you can buy a ticket to one film or get a weekend pass to get access to everything from opening night through next Sunday.

There are 250 films you could screen, but Cook said that’s not the intention.

“The intent is to come in and try something out,” Cook said. “If you are halfway or 20 minutes in and think ‘Oh, this isn’t for me,’ it is not rude in this environment to get up, leave and try a different film in a different venue.”

The box office opens 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and then 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. starting on Friday plus through the weekend .

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