sidewalk.wadeonbirmingham.com

Sidewalk 2010 is just 5 weeks away, but the lineup is almost complete.

The 12th annual Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival has 208 films scheduled so far; yet to be announced are the opening night and closing night films, along with the Shout lineup (running concurrently with Sidewalk).

Let’s take a look at movies in the lineup with a local connection …

• • •

‘Hey Boo: Harper Lee and “To Kill a Mockingbird” ’

A timely look at Monroeville author Harper Lee. (You may know her for her classic novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.) Lee’s life story is shared in the documentary through family, friends and admirers such as Oprah Winfrey and Tom Brokaw.

• Directed by Mary Murphy.
• Official site | IMDB | Facebook | Sidewalk page
• 11 a.m. Sept. 26 in the Harambe Room
• Scheduled to attend: Murphy.

• • •

‘Lifted’

The latest Hunter Brothers (Alan and Hugh) production tells the story of Henry Matthews, a boy from the South who takes part in a reality TV singing competition to escape his crumbling world. he finds out his father has been re-deployed to Afghanistan. The film, shot in Alabama, includes several local and regional actors.

• Stars Nicki Aycox, Uriah Shelton, Dash Mihok, Trace Adkins and Ruben Studdard.
• Directed by Lexi Alexander.
• Official site | IMDB | Facebook | Sidewalk page
• 11 a.m. Sept. 25 at Alabama Power
• Scheduled to attend: Alexander, cast and crew.

• • •

‘Man in the Glass: The Dale Brown Story’

Directed by Birmingham’s Patrick Sheehan, the documentary follows the career and beyond of Louisiana State men’s basketball coach Dale Brown. The story covers his winning over fans in a football school and his battles with the NCAA over student-athletes. Not only is Brown a legend in college basketball but also continues to work as a human rights activist.

• Directed by Patrick Sheehan.
• Official site | Facebook | Sidewalk page
• 1:10 p.m. Sept. 26 at Alabama Power
• Scheduled to attend: Sheehan.

• • •

‘Not My Son’

The documentary examines gun violence through interviews with Birmingham mothers whose children were killed. Featured is Carolyn Johnson-Turner, who founded the Parents Against Violence Foundation in 2004 after her son, Rodreckus, 20, was shot and killed on his way to a friend’s birthday party.

• Directed by Dwight Cammeron.
• Official site | Sidewalk page
• 10:30 a.m. Sept. 25 at the Alabama Theatre Studio

• • •

‘Ready, Set, Bag!’

Follow Huntsville’s Roger Chen in his quest for a championship. This Chinese immigrant, born in Trinidad and Tobago, studies computer science and needs the prize money after earning the state title.

The sport? Bagging groceries. The documentary focuses on Chen, a bagger at Publix, and seven other contestants headed to the annual Best Bagger Championship by the National Grocers Association.

• Directed by Justine Jacob and Alex D. da Silva.
• Official site | IMDB | Sidewalk page
• 4 p.m. Sunday at the Alabama Theatre

• • •

Shorts blocks

• Life and Liberty Shorts, 1:15 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute [lineup]
• Local shorts No. 1 — Dramatic Narrative, 10:20 a.m. Sept. 25 at the Carver Theatre [lineup]
• Local shorts No. 2 — Comedic Narrative, 1:15 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Harambe Room [lineup]
• Local shorts No. 3 — Documentary, 1:15 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Harambe Room [lineup]
• Music videos (including winners from July’s Scrambled Jam), 8 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Harambe Room [lineup]
• National and local shorts — Narrative, 3:50 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Alabama Theatre Studio [lineup]

• • •

The Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival takes place Sept. 24-26 in downtown Birmingham. Tickets: three-day pass, $50, $40 for members and students; one-day pass, $20, $15 for members and students.

Also:

• Full lineup
• Venues

• • •

Are you planning to go? Which movies are on your list? And which ones should we review? Let us know in the comments.

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.

Gay film festival moves to fall; new hires in the works

The Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival has made major moves for 2010. Its parent organization, the Alabama Moving Image Association, has filled out its event calendar, shuffled a festival and made room for two new positions. Executive director Chloe Collins shared the details via e-mail.

• Birmingham Shout, the organization’s springtime gay/lesbian film festival, will move to fall, specifically Sept. 24-26. So, both Shout and Sidewalk 2010 will take place on the same weekend in downtown Birmingham.

Collins says that the move allows for “exciting cross promotions, audience development, important interactions and a stronger focus on serving each event’s mission.

“Though the dates and footprint will be the shared, Shout and Sidewalk will be distinct events with unique marketing, community steering, volunteers, parties, events and, of course, programming. Shout will have its own venue — screening films both Saturday and Sunday — allowing patrons more opportunities and flexibility compared to last year which offered two screens on one day, forcing patrons to choose one film experience over another.”

Shout started in 2006, having grown and shrunk in its previous four runs. (Coincidentally, Sidewalk started in 1999 as a spring festival before moving to the fall the following year.) The festival’s revenues and financial health remain unclear.

Collins and other staff members will oversee Shout, while the festival’s programmer will be Billy Ray Brewton, co-founder and president of Theatre Downtown.

Two-day passes will allow entrance to both festivals. Filmmakers submitting movies with gay/lesbian themes will choose which festival or festivals to enter, rather than the programming committees. Collins added that the two festivals will work together to avoid double-programming any film.

• With the approval of the 2010 budget, Sidewalk is looking to hire a development/communications manager (a newly created staff position) and an education and outreach coordinator (a contract position).

The festival terminated the project coordinator position, most recently held by Natalie Hummel.

After the 2009 event, the organization went from a $10,000 deficit to a $20,000 surplus.

Update: Rebecca Pugh is the new development/communications manager. She previously worked as an assignment editor at NBC 13 before spending the last 3 years in a similar role at Tampa’s ABC affiliate.

• Upcoming Sidewalk events include:

• Tonight | monthly Sidewalk Salon, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Rojo on Southside, featuring Mark Stricklin of the Birmingham-Jefferson Film Office
• Thursday | Pre-Oscar Bash fund-raiser, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Kress Building, 301 19th St. N., downtown. $20, $15 for Sidewalk members. For tickets and more information, visit the site.
• March 9 | Sidewalk Silver Screen Encore Series, featuring “That Evening Sun,” 7 p.m., Virginia Samford Theatre, 1116 26th St. S., Southside. $8. For tickets and more information, visit the site. [Review from Wade on Birmingham]
• March 15 | deadline for submissions for Sidewalk 2010.

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.

A look back at all things and people and events 2009 …

Video: Mary Buckelew gets probation
instead of jail time: “Justice was served today.”

Nov. 2 | Our Vote 2009 resumed coverage as a special election for mayor of Birmingham was set. As each of the 14 candidates announced, as each forum and town hall emerged, we had the info. And still, the campaign continues …

Nov. 3 | Birmingham looks to Austin for a way to spur badly needed economic development. Can the city and the Birmingham Business Alliance match the Texas metropolis’ success?

Nov. 4 | Do Birmingham’s nonprofit organizations and their volunteers deserve awards? YP Roundtable thinks so, but we call it “selfishly egotistically uncharitable.”

Nov. 6 | A Wade on Birmingham exclusive: How Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival went from being in debt to $20,000 in the black. All it took was budget cuts, fast fund-raising and more ticket sales.

Nov. 6 | ABC’s “Supernanny” visits Hayden to help a family of five with discipline problems. One household down, many many more to go.

Nov. 12 | Speaking of discipline … Former Jefferson County Commission president Mary Buckelew escaped with a slap on the wrist, or 3 years probation and $20,000 fine for lying to a grand jury. She had faced 12 to 18 months in prison.

Nov. 18 | HealthSouth chief executive officer Jay Grinney says the way forward for the city and county is combined government, along with the Birmingham Business Alliance’s economic development plan. He was a keynote speaker at the Birmingham Economic Summit.

Nov. 18 | Birmingham took a big bite out of crime in 2009, with a 12 percent drop in the first three quarters. Despite the effort, the city still placed seventh nationally in city crime rankings.

Nov. 23 | Campaign oddity exhibit A: “Cooper Rap.” Exhibit B: Candidate arrested for disorderly conduct at a bar.

Nov. 24 | A council coup, of sorts. Roderick Royal becomes incoming city council’s new president and interim mayor, ending Carole Smitherman’s short tenure.

Nov. 30 | Two calendars, A Picture of Health and Brave Beauties, raise money for charity. Two weeks later, the cover model for “A Picture of Health” died from ovarian cancer.

See all of our November coverage.

• • •

Haiku flashback

the iron bowl in 17 syllables (Nov. 26)

Tradition, empty
malls, rivalry, crimson white,
orange blue, braggin’ rights.

• • •

365 days of Birmingham’s best and worst: Wade on 2009

A look back at all things and people and events 2009 …

Video: Gov. Riley attends the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival
closing film, “Alabama Moon.”

Sept. 11 | September in Birmingham means two things in downtown culture: Artwalk and Sidewalk. For Artwalk, we presented an hour-by-hour guide to the two-day art festival.

Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival | All eyes were on the 11th annual film festival with a new executive director in place and sizable debt to overcome. Our contributing reviewers watched 11(!) movies to size them up for you in advance, including the opening night documentary feature, “Best Worst Movie.” How do we do it? Volume, volume, volume.

See all of our September coverage.

• • •

Haiku flashback

at the drive-in [Sept. 8]

I declared my love
over shakes and a burger,
hold the mushiness.

• • •

365 days of Birmingham’s best and worst: Wade on 2009

A look back at all things and people and events 2009 …

Video: Bill Blount joins Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks
with a guilty plea.

Aug. 1 | We counted down the days to former mayor Larry Langford’s original Aug. 31 trial date with our greatest series ever, Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks. Seriously, look how many criminals we stuffed into one month …

• Mary Kay Beard | James Bevel | Bill Blount | Mary Buckelew | Rube Burrow
• Gregory Clarke | Matthew Cloyd, Russell DeBusk and Benjamin Moseley | Jeff Germany | Dedrick Griham | Richard Hawes
• The HealthSouth 16 | Virginia Hill | Troy Ingram | John Katopodis | Al LaPierre
• Don MacDermott | E.B. McClain | Jeff and Jessica McCord | Chris McNair | Danny Ray Miles
• Jack Montgomery | Samuel Pettagrue | Richard Scrushy | Don Siegelman | Lakendall Sims
• 16th Street Baptist Church bombers | Simon Speights | J.B. Stoner | Marvin Warner | Gary White

Who didn’t make the list? Langford, convicted Oct. 28. And pipe maker McWane Inc., whose latest fine is $4 million.

Aug. 10 | A juicy morsel: Wade on Birmingham had the exclusive scoop on the exclusive screening of the documentary “Food, Inc.” P.S. We love our news tipsters.

Aug. 11 | The dirge continued as we presented the Birmingham Heritage Festival lineup and demise in the same day. P.S. Never piss off Ludacris. Ever.

Aug. 25 | Our Vote 2009 coverage kicked into high gear with our extensive look at the Birmingham city council and board of education races. Later, we had results from all 18 races, nine of which were headed to runoffs.

Aug. 27 | The end of August also means the start of our monthlong coverage of the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival, with an in-depth look at the local films plus the opening night documentary, “Best Worst Movie.”

See all of our August coverage.

• • •

Haiku flashback

football season: dear coach (Aug. 31)

Please take us to the
national championship
(or else, you’re fired).

• • •

365 days of Birmingham’s best and worst: Wade on 2009

A look back at all things and people and events 2009 …

Video: Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham segment on the city’s future in 50 years, produced by Mike Cunliffe and Wade on Birmingham contributor Jennifer West

April 11 | A tremendous milestone for this site: post No. 2000. Another 2,000 posts, and that free breakfast at Denny’s is mine!

April 20 | The way Birmingham works takes a step forward with the opening of Shift Workspace downtown. Our sneak peek showed professionals what to expect from the new coworking space, including room for classes from the Birmingham Blogging Academy.

April 22 | Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival hires Chloe Collins as its new executive director, and we told you first. Plus, we had the exclusive interview with Collins on her plans to pull the film festival out of debt.

April 27 | We glimpsed into our crystal ball to see the city 50 years from now, with a little help from the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham. Given the challenges this year, looking forward seemed to be the only hope left. (The video above has a shout out to this site at 0:53.)

April 29 | Swine flu arrived in Alabama, as two cases were reported in the Huntsville area. In 2009, 37 people in the state have died from H1N1.

“Survivor” at a glance | April 2: Debbie chows down for a reward, while J.T. casts a deciding vote … April 9: J.T. and Debbie make it to the merge, only to face a surprising elimination … April 16: Debbie and J.T. share a reward, and J.T. casts another pivotal ballot … April 23: More rewards for J.T. and Debbie, and yet again, J.T. decides another’s fate … April 30: Debbie has a showdown with Sierra.

See all of our April coverage.

• • •

Haiku flashback

concrete savanna (April 20)

From on high, urban
structures kneel to the crushing
sky, brick versus steel.

• • •

365 days of Birmingham’s best and worst: Wade on 2009

A look back at all things and people and events 2009 …

Video: “Chains of Love,” Los Lobos. The band will play
an acoustic concert on Jan. 22
at the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center.

March 3 | Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival moves forward with plans to hire a new executive director, as featured in this Wade on Birmingham exclusive. The leader of the state’s largest film festival will need organizational and fund-raising skills, but not necessarily deep cinematic knowledge.

March 11 | The Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center was still months away from the end of its 2008-09 season when we broke the news on the lineup for the 2009-10 season, including Los Lobos (see video above), Savion Glover and the Peking Acrobats coming in early 2010.

March 15 | The way the ball bounces: A sad post-season for Alabama college basketball squads, as Alabama State didn’t even make it past Morehead State in the men’s play-in game, while No. 2 seed Auburn won its first-round game, only to lose to Rutgers next in the women’s tournament.

March 23 | Wade on Birmingham branches out into another company and blog, the Birmingham Blogging Academy. Businesses interested in all forms of social media have a new resource here in town.

March 29 | City Stages announces its headliners, the all-too-familiar mix of oldies but oldies, including the Doobie Brothers, Styx, 38 Special and REO Speedwagon. Birmingham yawns.

“Survivor” at a glance | March 5: Debbie and J.T. go toe to toe in shouldering the most weight, and J.T. survives Tribal Council … March 12: J.T. breaks a tooth in a losing battle, Debbie schemes with Coach … March 25: clip show! with more scenes from Debbie and J.T.

See all of our March coverage.

• • •

Haiku flashback

grandma said (March 15)

Kind words go further
than angry ones. Mind that you
keep plenty in stock.

• • •

365 days of Birmingham’s best and worst: Wade on 2009

A look back at all things and people and events 2009 …

Video: Excerpt from “In Broad Daylight/Fight Club,”
featuring Birmingham homicide detectives in “The First 48”

Feb. 4 | Wade on Birmingham goes microblogging via Twitter with @WadeOnTweets, changing the way news tips come into this site and breaking news and other features are announced. And in less than a year, close to 1,600 followers are keeping up with the latest headlines in real time.

Feb. 5 | Crime pays, sort of, as Birmingham’s finest appear in new episodes of reality docudrama, “The First 48.” The A&E show followed homicide detectives as they pursued leads and suspects in one of America’s deadliest cities. Check it out in the video above.

Feb. 11 | Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival starts anew, beginning with the firing of executive director Catherine Pfitzer. If it happened at Sidewalk, Wade on Birmingham brought it to you first throughout 2009.

Feb. 17 | Birmingham begins the slow march into digital television, starting with Alabama Public Television, CW21 and My 68. The remaining local stations would follow suit some 4 months later.

Feb. 26 | Jason Mraz becomes the first performer announced for May’s Schaeffer Crawfish Boil, a Wade on Birmingham exclusive. It would become a year of success for the boil, but disastrous for other longtime Birmingham music festivals.

“Survivor” at a glance | Feb. 12: J.T. and Debbie start out in opposing tribes, and J.T. survives first Tribal Council … Feb. 19: J.T. forms a game-changing alliance with Stephen; Debbie survives her first Tribal Council  … Feb. 26: J.T. keeps his tribe full with fresh fish; Debbie survives another Tribal Council.

See all of our February coverage.

• • •

Haiku flashback

in a field of dirt (Feb. 11)

Out there, somewhere, is
a vegetable garden just
before it pokes up.

• • •

365 days of Birmingham’s best and worst: Wade on 2009

Film festival combines budget cutting, increased sales and speedy fund-raising

Almost showtime: Before a screening at the Alabama Theatre
during the 2009 Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival.

In a year of troubled festivals in Birmingham, one event managed a storybook ending despite the odds. The 2009 Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival had a new executive director, a budget shortfall and a ticking clock.

Here’s what didn’t happen: The 11-year-old film fest didn’t shut down before opening night. It didn’t leave vendors unpaid. And it didn’t file for bankruptcy.

Instead, Sidewalk finished $20,000 in the black and pulled in roughly 13,000 attendees, despite a troubled economy.

In this exclusive interview, executive director Chloe Collins shares how the two-person staff and their 425 volunteers not only survived, but succeeded.

Budget breakdown

With Collins’ arrival in April, she faced two common obstacles: time and money. She had less than 5 months to get the festival ready and a $10,000 deficit cutting into her resources.

“It’s really hard to get people excited about doing less,” she said. “It’s an easier sell to say, ‘Look at the stuff we’re adding.'”

Her goals were to just see if she could do it, to put on the event with the same level of quality as previous years without more debt, yet still improve the programming.

Organizers went throughout the budget line by line, cutting expenses like Collins’ travel budget and saving money by switching insurance companies and partnering with sponsors for the event’s parties.

In addition, the Alabama Moving Image Association, the actual entity that runs the festival and other Sidewalk events, changed the membership program and held an online fund-raiser called Kick the Bucket. The 3-week goal was $10,000, but the total raised was $5,864.

And yet, it was nearly $6,000 that the festival didn’t have before, from a campaign in August, right in the heat of actual event preparation.

Collins has created 100 proposals for both local and national sponsors. She has also invested time in applying for grants. Melissa Kendrick, who had been hired with grant money as the association’s part-time development director, instead took a job as chief executive officer of the American Lung Association of Alabama.

Not only was Collins learning the ropes as executive director but also was filling in as development director along the way.

The event had no title sponsor as it had in 2008. But it did have one other triumph: more ticket sales.

All combined, the festival wrapped with $20,000 extra, 20 percent over the goal for the year, according to preliminary figures from Collins.

Room to breathe

Collins points out that the festival has run lean over the years, so the surplus gives Sidewalk some breathing room. The association paid all its vendors in full by October, including any from 2008 who still hadn’t been fully reimbursed.

“We’re in a better place than I thought we would be in back in June or July,” Collins said.

Still, the festival was not without a hiccup or two. For example, a new audience tracking system didn’t fully live up to expectations.

Attendees who bought online tickets and filled out demographic info would have their passes scanned at each screening. The data collected would not only give an attendance figure, but also reveal which movies were popular with specific groups. (In past years, volunteers would count audience members upon entrance using hand clickers.)

Instead, glitches human and otherwise generated an incomplete picture. Based on the preliminary data, organizers estimate 13,000 attended the three-day event in September. They plan to look deeper into the numbers over the coming months.

Past years’ attendance figures — around 10,000 to 13,000 — have been rough estimates, based on ballot and clicker counts.

Coming soon

The event itself “went off without a hitch,” Collins says, in part because of festival producer Denise Koch of McMillan Associates. The Birmingham-based agency has worked with Sidewalk since 2007. Collins had nothing but praise for Koch: “I feel comfortable with Denise. … Denise did a really good job for us. She was committed to the festival.”

Koch and her boss George McMillan are facing arrest warrants for bad check charges related to their work on City Stages. The downtown music festival declared bankruptcy after a lackluster showing in June, leaving dozens of vendors unpaid.

Collins signs all checks and contracts related to Sidewalk, rather than an outside representative.

Meanwhile, Collins is preparing the 2010 budget for board approval. With one festival completed, she has been looking ahead to improvements for next time, including possibly adding another staff member and reassigning duties within the office.

“We’re so blessed to have repeat customers (as volunteers) and new volunteers,” Collins said. “I feel really blessed that we’ve gotten to this point, and that we have such huge community support.”

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.

Photo by Ali Clark / aliclark.org

Taylor Hicks performs all over Birmingham
this weekend, in “Grease” (shown above)
and at WorkPlay. Photo by Joan Marcus.

This final weekend of September in Birmingham is especially jam packed with events …

Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival

You’ve been reading all week about downtown’s annual film festival. We’ve posted 11 reviews, several features and more will be coming throughout the weekend. But here’s what you need to know:

• Opening night film, “Best Worst Movie” [review]: 8 tonight, Alabama Theatre, tickets $15, $13 for members and students
• Two-day pass for Saturday and Sunday: various venues downtown, tickets $35, $30 for members and students
• Film tickets: $8 for one, $20 for three
• Lineup

Also, assorted coverage:

• Wade on Birmingham
• Birmingham Weekly: The Best of the Fest
• Black and White: Sidewalk Picks
• Birmingham News: George Hardy of “Best Worst Movie” | panel on movie music
• Zoom Out: “Made in China” | “The Tiger Next Door”
• Tuscaloosa News: Sidewalk guide | “Old Bryce”
• Salty ‘Ham Jam: Bill Plympton class
• ILoveUAB: festival highlights
• Urbanham: “Number One With a Bullet”

Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz Festival

Performances by Cleve Eaton, Eric Essix and Tracy Hamlin, Bobbi Humphrey, Desire and the Birmingham Heritage Band.

• Noon-midnight Saturday
• Fourth Avenue North and 16th Street downtown [map]
• free
• official site

Holy Trinity-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral Greek Food Festival

Music and shopping, plus drive-through and takeout orders available. And look at this menu.

• 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. today and Saturday
• free, but charge for food/drink (no credit cards or debit cards)
• 307 19th St. S. [map]
• official site

Music galore

Looking for a concert?

• Vulcan AfterTunes starts Sunday with George Porter Jr. and His Running Pardners, $10, 3 p.m.
• Hoover native and American Idol Taylor Hicks performs Saturday at WorkPlay (Friday show is sold out), $25, 9 p.m.
• Opera Birmingham kicks off its season with “From Broadway to La Boheme,” 7:30 tonight and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Samford University, $15-$35

And performances

Shows this weekend include …

• “Grease” at the BJCC Concert Hall with Taylor Hicks, tonight-Sunday, $20-$55
• Alabama Ballet‘s “@ Home at the Barre” series at the company’s studios in Lakeview, tonight-Oct. 4, $20

And events

Two spring to mind …

• Southern Women’s Show, BJCC Exhibition Hall, today-Sunday, $9, $5 for age 6-12, free for age 5 and younger
• Irondale Whistle Stop Festival, music and children’s activities, Saturday, free

So what will you be doing this weekend?

Movie review: ‘Best Worst Movie’

sidewalk.wadeonbirmingham.com
By Kenn McCracken

Review at a glance: The documentary “Best Worst Movie” provides a good look at how an unintentionally bad movie gets made.

A scene from “Best Worst Movie.”

We’ve all seen bad movies. Once in a while, though, you’ll find a movie that takes bad to its logical conclusion, passes it, loops back on itself and becomes entertaining in its awfulness, like the horror flick “Troll 2.”

A documentary goes one step further. “Best Worst Movie” looks at the making of “Troll 2” and the camp celebrations and fandom that have sprung up around the unapologetically bad movie.

“Best Worst Movie” opens the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival tonight.

Director Michael Paul Stephenson, who played the lead role in “Troll 2,” focuses on the major players of the cast and crew, including director Claudio Fragasso, writer Rossella Drudi and Alexander City native George Hardy.

“Troll 2” — which, coincidentally, isn’t a sequel to “Troll” and doesn’t even feature any trolls — has spawned conventions, viewing parties and fan gatherings.

What emerges is a group of people best known for one of the worst movies ever made and their reactions to the growing fandom. (Novice filmmakers: Rejoice in the fact that you’ve probably made better movies for less money. There’s hope yet.)

Some of them have continued making movies or acting, while others have disappeared from the public eye altogether.

Most interesting, perhaps, is Hardy, the small-town dentist. Watching his earnest excitement grow and fall at being involved with “Troll 2” is somewhat charming, especially if you’ve ever known anyone who had a brief brush with fame.

Will he continue acting, or stick with his dental practice? Will fame go to his head, or can he remain an humble Alabama boy?

Watching “Best Worst Movie” is kind of meta. (I’m fairly certain that with some “Troll 2” cast and crew in attendance to watch themselves watching themselves, we will all fall through the rabbit hole that becomes an actual rip in the space-time continuum.)

Still, it’s a good look at what is becoming a cult classic, from the inside out, looking back.

Kenn McCracken (@insomniactive) is a director and an award-winning screenwriter (2005 Sidewalk Sidewrite grand prize, “Muckfuppet”).

He’s also a writer (Birmingham Weekly, Spin.com, mental_floss), a bassist for the Exhibit(s), an eight-time cat juggling champion for Malta and an ongoing experiment in sleep deprivation. He occasionally steals your best ideas to claim at his blog, Dairy of a Madman.

“Best Worst Movie” will screen at 8 tonight at the Alabama Theatre.

Video: Trailer for “Best Worst Movie”

Video: “Troll 2” director Claudio Fragasso
discusses the audience’s reaction.

Also:

• Official site
• Sidewalk summary
• Reviews from Blogcritics | CHUD | Cinematical | EFilmCritic | Eric D. Snider | SlashFilm | Variety

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.

Movie review: ‘That Evening Sun’

sidewalk.wadeonbirmingham.com
By Jennifer West

Review at a glance: The slow-paced but remarkable “That Evening Sun” portrays a love story in the guise of an old farmer’s battle for his house.

Hal Holbrook stars in “That Evening Sun.”

Old Abner Meecham fights an all too familiar battle at the end of his days, one for dignity.

A tragedy dealing with loss, aging and anger, “That Evening Sun” is a love story between a man and his house. It’s also a love story between a man and his wife, and a man and his life.

The movie screens Saturday at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival.

Lonzo Choat (Ray McKinnon), a violent unemployed drunk, lives in the beloved old home of Abner (Hal Holbrook), a farmer in Tennessee. Lonzo, who shares the house with a wife and a daughter, collects disability pay, even though his injury has healed.

Meanwhile, Abner has set up in a shack on his property, refusing to leave until they move out.

This slow-paced film by writer-director Scott Teems features long beautiful shots and an eclectic old-school soundtrack. The remarkable “That Evening Sun” is worth the wait.

Jennifer West (@juniperlou) won the Sidewalk Audience Choice award for her romantic comedy “Piece of Cake” in 2006, which she wrote and directed. She’s working on a feature-length screenplay and blogging about it on JuniperLou.

“That Evening Sun” will screen at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Alabama Theatre.

Video: Trailer for “That Evening Sun”

Also:

• Official site
• Sidewalk summary
• Reviews from Ain’t It Cool News | Austin Chronicle | Creative Loafing | Examiner | Film School Rejects | Film Threat | Variety

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.

Movie review: ‘You Might as Well Live’

sidewalk.wadeonbirmingham.com
By Jennifer West

Review at a glance: The quirky comedy “You Might as Well Live,” about a suicidal nobody out to prove he’s somebody, is one of the best in Sidewalk’s lineup this year.

Greg Bryk, left, and Joshua Peace
star in “You Might as Well Live.”

Robert Mutt is a real somebody! Robert Mutt likes to talk about himself, or I should say, to himself, in the third person.

“You Might as Well Live” is a brilliantly wacky comedy that follows Mutt after time in a mental institution for repeated suicide attempts.

The film, directed and co-written by Simon Ennis, screens Saturday at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival.

Upon his return home, he is accused of possession of child pornography. It’s up to Mutt to prove that he’s a “real somebody” and not a “douche bag.”

Trying to raise the $25 needed for an air hockey table, he dabbles in drugs, organ smuggling and Judaism.

“You Might as Well Live” will be one of the best films you will see at Sidewalk this year.

Jennifer West (@juniperlou) won the Sidewalk Audience Choice award for her romantic comedy “Piece of Cake” in 2006, which she wrote and directed. She’s working on a feature-length screenplay and blogging about it on JuniperLou.

“You Might as Well Live” will screen at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Carver Theatre. Opening shorts are “Fuckin’ Old Bitch,” “Receive Bacon” and “Feeder.”

Video: Trailer for “You Might as Well Live”

Video: You need only three things to prove you’re somebody.

Also:

• Official site
• Sidewalk summary
• Reviews from Canoe | EFilmCritic | (Montreal) Gazette | Variety

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.

Movie review: ‘Dead Snow’

sidewalk.wadeonbirmingham.com
By Kenn McCracken

Review at a glance: “Dead Snow” bills itself as “Nazi zombies!” but actually delivers on the right mix of laughs and scares in a frozen horror show.

A scene from “Dead Snow.”

Any horror/comedy fan knows that it’s a tough existence: For every success — “Evil Dead II,” “Shaun of the Dead” — a hundred clones fail to deliver on one or both genres.

You’re in for a treat with “Dead Snow” (“Død snø”), a Norwegian import with English subtitles that successfully combines the jumps and gore of zombie movies with a dead-on wry wit.

The movie screens Saturday at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival.

As with many horror/comedies, the laughs are provided by the human victims, while the scares are doled out at the hands and teeth of zombies. Director Tommy Wirkola’s film is closer in tone to the Sam Raimi films than “Shaun of the Dead.”

And yet it’s a near-perfect mix of tones for the story approach: a very linear recipe of all the tropes you’d expect from a zombie film, but less slick and predictable (in some ways) than your average Hollywood pic.

It’s surprising that there aren’t too many horror films shot against snowy locales. Not only does the blood show up much more spectacularly against the bleak white, but also a haunting beauty to the endless fields of snow and leafless trees emerges.

And seriously, why did it take someone so long to use the idea of Nazi zombies?

The most noticeable problems will jump out, so to speak, to non-horror fans: a lack of character development in some spots, and a total disregard for the realities of human biology. The squeamish should probably avoid this film, as the effects are convincing enough, and the fake blood is used quite liberally.

We zombie-movie buffs are OK with bodies as fodder. When it occasionally lends to the humor, as it does in some scenes, all the better.

Make 2 hours in your schedule available for “Dead Snow,” an excellent example of a slightly left-of-center indie film made with talent and skill. It’s a damned good cross between laughs and scares, in a niche I wrongly thought would have run its course by now.

Kenn McCracken (@insomniactive) is a director and an award-winning screenwriter (2005 Sidewalk Sidewrite grand prize, “Muckfuppet”).

He’s also a writer (Birmingham Weekly, Spin.com, mental_floss), a bassist for the Exhibit(s), an eight-time cat juggling champion for Malta and an ongoing experiment in sleep deprivation. He occasionally steals your best ideas to claim at his blog, Dairy of a Madman.

“Dead Snow” will screen at 9:30 p.m. Saturday at the Alabama Theatre. Opening shorts are “Karaoke Show” and “A Healthy Smile.”

Video: Trailer for “Dead Snow”

Video: A scene from “Dead Snow”

Also:

• Official site
• Sidewalk summary
• Reviews from Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert) | Entertainment Weekly | New York Post | New York Times

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.

Movie review: ‘Official Rejection’

sidewalk.wadeonbirmingham.com
By Jennifer West

Review at a glance: The documentary “Official Rejection” tells the funny meta-tale of getting a movie into a festival.

A publicity still for “Official Rejection.”

You made your first film. And it is pretty amazing, if you say so yourself. Now you’re ready for the big time, Sundance, where your film will obviously be accepted.

Big fat rejection! What?!

You then move on to a slew of smaller festivals, and you get into a handful … if you are lucky.

Does this officially mean your movie is bad?

The documentary “Official Rejection,” directed by Paul Osborne, is an intimate look at another film’s journey (“Ten ’Til Noon”) through the complicated and expensive film festival circuit.

The film screens Saturday at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival.

Not all good films are created equal, and not all good films get the attention they deserve in the film festival circuit. However, lots of bad movies circulate out there (and lots of filmmakers in serious denial of that fact).

If learning the ins and outs of the film festival circuit is interesting to you, then you will find “Official Rejection” very educational, funny and entertaining.

Jennifer West (@juniperlou) won the Sidewalk Audience Choice award for her romantic comedy “Piece of Cake” in 2006, which she wrote and directed. She’s working on a feature-length screenplay and blogging about it on JuniperLou.

“Official Rejection” will screen at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the Carver Theatre.

Video: Trailer for “Official Rejection”

Also:

• Official site
• Sidewalk summary
• Reviews from The 213 | FilmJerk | IndyFilmFest

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.