SIDEWALK 2010 CALL FOR ENTRIES

The 12th annual Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival, a celebration of new independent cinema in downtown Birmingham, is set to take place September 24-26, 2010. Since its debut in 1999, filmmakers from across the country and around the world have come to Birmingham to screen their work at Sidewalk and have been thrilled to discover fresh, enthusiastic crowds eager to devour new independent cinema. Submit now to be a part a festival that made Peter Gilbert proclaim, "This is how film festivals should be." Our 2009 festival screened a whopping 46 feature length films, and over 100 short films. Click here to check out our film lineup from 2009. UPCOMING DEADLINES & ENTRY FEES (Submissions must be postmarked by the deadline date.) FEATURE LENGTH SUBMISSIONS: FEBRUARY 15, 2010 - EARLYBIRD DEADLINE Tier | Regular | Discounted Standard Fee | 45.00 | 40.00 Student Fee | 40.00 | 35.00 Sidewalk Member | 35.00 | 30.00 Alabama Production | 30.00 |25.00 Sidewalk Member w/ AL Prod. | 25.00 | 20.00 MARCH 15, 2010 - REGULAR DEADLINE Tier | Regular | Discounted Standard Fee | 50.00 | 45.00 Student Fee | 45.00 | 40.00 Sidewalk Member | 40.00 | 35.00 Alabama Production | 35.00 | 30.00 Sidewalk Member w/ AL Prod. | 30.00 | 25.00 APRIL 15, 2010 - LATE DEADLINE Tier | Regular | Discounted Standard Fee | 60.00 | 55.00 Student Fee | 55.00 | 50.00 Sidewalk Member | 50.00 | 45.00 Alabama Production | 45.00 | 40.00 Sidewalk Member w/ AL Prod. | 40.00 | 35.00 MAY 1, 2010 - WAB EXTENDED DEADLINE Tier | Regular | Discounted Standard Fee | 75.00 | 60.00 Student Fee | 70.00 | 55.00 Sidewalk Member | 65.00 | 50.00 Alabama Production | 60.00 | 45.00 Sidewalk Member w/ AL Prod. | 55.00 | 40.00 MAY 15, 2010 - AL FILMMAKERS' EXT. DEADLINE Tier | Regular | Discounted Alabama Production | 60.00 | 55.00 Sidewalk Member w/ AL Prod. | 55.00 | 50.00 SHORT (< 45 MIN.) SUBMISSIONS: FEBRUARY 15, 2010 - EARLYBIRD DEADLINE Tier | Regular | Discounted Standard Fee | 30.00 | 25.00 Student Fee | 25.00 | 20.00 Sidewalk Member | 20.00 | 15.00 Alabama Production | 15.00 | * Sidewalk Member w/ AL Prod. | 10.00 | * MARCH 15, 2010 - REGULAR DEADLINE Tier | Regular | Discounted Standard Fee | 35.00 | 30.00 Student Fee | 30.00 | 25.00 Sidewalk Member | 25.00 | 20.00 Alabama Production | 20.00 | 15.00 Sidewalk Member w/ AL Prod. | 15.00 | * APRIL 15, 2010 - LATE DEADLINE Tier | Regular | Discounted Standard Fee | 40.00 | 35.00 Student Fee | 35.00 | 30.00 Sidewalk Member | 30.00 | 25.00 Alabama Production | 25.00 | 20.00 Sidewalk Member w/ AL Prod. | 20.00 | 15.00 MAY 1, 2010 - WAB EXTENDED DEADLINE Tier | Regular | Discounted Standard Fee | 55.00 | 40.00 Student Fee | 50.00 | 35.00 Sidewalk Member | 45.00 | 30.00 Alabama Production | 40.00 | 25.00 Sidewalk Member w/ AL Prod. | 35.00 | 20.00 MAY 15, 2010 - AL FILMMAKERS' EXT. DEADLINE Tier | Regular | Discounted Alabama Production | 40.00 | 35.00 Sidewalk Member w/ AL Prod. | 35.00 | 30.00 Special discounts for Sidewalk Members, Students with valid ID, and for films produced in the State of Alabama. Teenage filmmakers, age 18 years and younger, may submit their work to the Teen Filmmaker sidebar with no entry fee. Work submitted to this category is considered solely for this category, and must be the sole creation of the teenager(s) submitting the work. Eligible works must have been completed after January 1, 2008 and, aside from other Sidewalk screenings, must not have been publicly exhibited in the Greater Birmingham Metropolitan Area prior to the 2010 festival dates. Work accepted to screen at the festival will be categorized in competitive and non-competitive categories at the sole discretion of Sidewalk. If a film is accepted, entrant agrees to ship exhibition materials to the festival at their own expense, to arrive at the Sidewalk office by Friday, September 10, 2010. Sidewalk can only provide return shipping via ground delivery within the continental United States. Although every possible care will be taken with exhibition material in our possession, neither Sidewalk nor the Alabama Moving Image Association, Inc. accepts responsibility for loss or damage. Please indicate if your submission will be available through a video on demand and/or pay-per-view service of any kind on or before September 30, 2010. The availability of your film prior to September 30, 2010 through such a service will make the film ineligible for competition and may, or may not, prevent the film from being programmed. Availability through such a service will be considered during the programming process and may impact programming decisions. However, decisions regarding programing films that are available through a video on demand and/or pay-per-view service are solely up to the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival staff. Entry fees are non-refundable, and submission does not guarantee that the entry will be accepted to the festival for a screening. READY TO SUBMIT? The Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival prefers online entries submitted via Withoutabox.com, which provides cost-saving, paperless submission to film festivals around the world. Withoutabox's internet-only submission platform features online applications via one master entry form, online fee payments, press kits, and the option to use Secure Online Screeners, an economical, eco-friendly, and secure alternative to traditional hard-copy DVD submissions. Fill out one master entry form and take advantage of quick entry, extended deadlines, and powerful submission management tools. There's no extra cost to you, and by submitting, you'll join Withoutabox's global filmmaker community and stay in the loop about international exhibition opportunities. Click to submit your film today!

WORD ON THE SIDEWALK...

BEST KEPT SECRET in MovieMaker magazine

One of TIME Magazine’s “Film Festivals for the Rest of Us”

One of Chris Gore's BEST VACATION FILM FESTIVALS in the Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide.

One of 20 FILM FESTIVALS WORTH THE ENTRY FEE in MovieMaker magazine.

“It has all the charm of a regional festival yet the programming quality and significance of a major global festival.” 
Steve Montal, Juror

“We’ve had a tremendous amount of opportunity to network with other filmmakers, which is really cool.” 
Sean Tracy, THE JESUS GUY

"I've never been to a film festival that made me feel so sad to go home. I honestly felt as if I was returning home from summer camp and leaving all my new best friends behind. So to evoke such strong feelings you all must be doing something right and it sheds much truth on the term "southern hospitality" which Sidewalk Moving Pictures Festival has so genuinely perfected!"
Jason Connell, STRICTLY BACKGROUND

“You start to get to know about the festivals that treat filmmakers well and the ones that don’t, and Sidewalk is one of the names that always came up as far as being great to filmmakers.” 
Joe Swanberg, HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS

“Sidewalk is totally different from all the other film festivals that I have been to. The people are so gracious and it’s so well organized.”
Caren Cross, LOST & FOUND IN MEXICO

“It’s kind of nice to come out to a festival like sidewalk that makes a fuss over the filmmakers and I guess, for our own vanity, just feel like big shots for the weekend.” 
Chris Bowman, AMERICAN FORK

“Sidewalk has done such a good job of educating the city and the audience in independent films.” 
Barlow Jacobs, LOW AND BEHOLD

“It draws really dedicated filmgoers that are interested in looking outside of traditional big box movies.” 
Ashley Sabin, KAMP KATRINA

“They have a really great staff and the programming committee is really sharp; they have a really good selection of films.” 
Alex Orr, BLOOD CAR

“It’s an energy of filmmakers and it’s not about the star, it’s not about glamour. It’s really a filmmaker’s festival.” 
Steve Montal, Juror

"This is how film festivals should be." 
Peter Gilbert, HOOP DREAMS / Juror

"I have to say this is one of the most fun festivals I've been to." 
Dan Myrick, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT / Juror

"This really has been the perfect festival." 
Eric Campos, FilmThreat.com / Juror

"Seriously, you guys have some magic going on down there, and I will encourage everyone I know to check it out." 
Jay Duplass, THE PUFFY CHAIR

"I really think you guys just might have discovered the perfect ingredients for a film festival... Hospitality, organization, local flavor, no attitude, really good food and great films! Wow-- what a blast!" 
Don Bernier, IN A NUTSHELL

"Often film festivals can actually be a lonely place for a filmmaker because you just don't know anyone, and sometimes they're all spread out and you don't have a car and you can barely get anywhere, and there aren't enough events set up for you to keep you busy or meet your fellow filmmakers and my goodness, Sidewalk just blew all that to the Cosmos! It was so friendly and fun and low key. I just felt astonishingly well taken care of."  
Alison Bagnall, PIGGIE / Juror

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Visit sidewalkfilm.org for details on Sidewalk's other programs, including the Sidewalk Salon, Sidewalk Scramble, SideWrite, and the Teen Filmmaking Challenge.