Wade on Birmingham

Sidewalk 2009: Local flavor

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Wade on Birmingham - Sidewalk Moving Picture FestivalDetails about the lineup for the 2009 Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival have been trickling out this week.

Among the 60-plus blocks, we take a closer look at the movies with an Alabama connection, complete with preview videos.

(Only the opening night film remains to be announced. The opening night film has been announced.)

The lineup so far:

The 11th annual Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival takes place Sept 25-27 in downtown Birmingham. Tickets: two-day pass, $15, $12 for members; opening night film $12, $10 for members.

• • •

‘Alabama Moon’

Alabama Moon - John Goodman

John Goodman stars as “Mr. Wellington” in “Alabama Moon,”
premiering at the 2009 Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival.

World premiere. One of two closing night films, “Alabama Moon” is based on the award-winning children’s book of the same name by Point Clear native Watt Key. Set in the early 1980s, the movie focuses on 11-year-old Moon Blake who hides out in the Alabama forests with his radical father. Suddenly orphaned, Moon must learn to adapt to the world around him on his own. Filmed in Louisiana.

  • Stars Jimmy Bennett, John Goodman and Clint Howard.
  • Directed by Tim McCanlies.
  • IMDB
  • 6:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Alabama Theatre
  • Scheduled to attend: Howard, Gabriel Basso, Uriah Shelton, producer/Tuscaloosa native Lee Faulkner and composer Ludek Drizhal.

• • •

‘Courting Condi’

A pseudo-documentary about one man’s object of desire, former Secretary of State (and Birmingham native) Condoleeza Rice.

  • Directed by Sebastian Doggart.
  • Official site | IMDB
  • 12:30 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Birmingham Museum of Art

• • •

‘Interplanetary’

North American premiere. Five years after making a splash at Sidewalk with the horror-comedy “Hide and Creep,” Birmingham-based Crewless Productions returns with a sci-fi-comedy set on Mars about a slasher loose on a corporate base. Filmed in Birmingham.

  • Stars Melissa Bush, Chuck Hartsell and Kyle Holman. (And yours truly.)
  • Directed by Chance Shirley.
  • Official site | IMDB
  • 4:15 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Carver Theatre

• • •

Shorts blocks

  • Films from August’s Scramble, 6:15 p.m. Sept. 26 at Alabama Power
  • UAB Digital City, 11 a.m. Sept. 26 at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
  • Local shorts No. 1, 9 p.m. Sept. 26 at Alabama Power
  • Local shorts No. 3, 11 a.m. Sept. 27 at Alabama Power [we’re not sure what happened to No. 2]

• • •

‘So Long Are You Young’

A documentary about “Youth,” written by Birmingham businessman, author and humanitarian Samuel Ullman in 1917. The poem lives on to influence political leaders Robert and Ted Kennedy, Panasonic founder Konosuke Matsushita, Nobel Peace Prize winner and president of Korea Kim Dae-jung and Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

• • •

‘They Came to Play’

A documentary about the entrants in the Van Cliburn Foundation’s piano competition, including Birmingham ophthalmologist Drew Mays.

  • Directed by Alex Rotaru.
  • Official site | IMDB
  • 6:45 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Birmingham Museum of Art

• • •

Which ones will you see? Let us know in the comments.

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