Sidewalk’s Book + Film Club unites movie and book lovers for a monthly film screening and discussion about famous films and the people who make them. Normally, participants will attend a kickoff meeting on the first Wednesday of each month where they pick up their book and meet other club members. On the last Wednesday of the month, we host a screening of a film related to the book and host a round-table discussion. **Through June 2021, we will be facilitating Book + Film Club virtually – participants’ books will be mailed to them (registration cutoff is first Wednesday of the month), they will watch the film on their own, and we will convene for a discussion via Zoom on the last Wednesday of the month at 7 PM.
Support for Book and Film Club comes from Left Hand Soap Company. Please email kiwi@sidewalkfest.com with any questions about Book + Film Club!
Membership options:
1 month: $30 (must register no later than one week before kickoff meeting)
3-month membership: $75
6-month membership: $132
All membership levels include the books participants will need and access to both the kickoff meeting and screening.
Bookmark our ticketing page for easy access to each month’s club!
January – The Fog of War
Book: Believing is Seeing: Observations on the Mysteries of Photography by Errol Morris
Film: The Fog of War (2003, dir. Errol Morris)
Deadline to Register: January 6th at 7 PM
Discussion Date: January 27th at 7 PM central time via Zoom
February – Howard Hughes
Book: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes’ Hollywood by Karina Longworth
Film: The Aviator (2004, dir. Martin Scorsese)
Deadline to Register: February 3rd at 7 PM
Discussion Date: February 24th at 7 PM central time via Zoom
March – James Bond
Book: Some Kind of Hero: The Remarkable Story of the James Bonds Films by Matthew Field
Film: Skyfall (2012, dir. Anthony Schatteman)
Deadline to Register: March 3rd at 7 PM
Discussion Date: March 31st at 7 PM central time via Zoom
April – Jim Henson
Book: Jim Henson by Brian Jay Jones
Film: The Muppet Movie (1979, dir. James Frawley)
Deadline to Register: April 7th at 7 PM
Discussion Date: April 28th at 7 PM central time via Zoom
May – American Music Documentary
Book: American Music Documentary: Five Case Studies of Cine-Ethnomusicology by Benjamin J. Harbert
Film: Gimme Shelter (1970, dir. Charlotte Zwerin, David Maysles, Albert Maysles)
Deadline to Register: May 5th at 7 PM
Discussion Date: May 26th at 7 PM central time via Zoom
June – Guerrilla Filmmaking
Book: Sweet Sweeback’s Baadasssss Song: A Guerilla Filmmaking Manifesto
Film: Sweet Sweeback’s Baadasssss Song
Deadline to Register: June 2nd at 7 PM
Discussion Date: June 30th at 7 PM Central Time via Zoom
**Tentatively planning to return to in-person screenings after June, pending the pandemic**
July – Barbara Kopple
Book: Barbara Kopple: Interviews, Edited by Gregory Brown
Film: TBA
Deadline to Register: July 7th at 7:00 PM
Screening + Discussion Date: July 28th at 7:00 PM
August – Guillermo del Toro
Book: The Supernatural Cinema of Guillermo del Toro, edited by John W. Morehead
Film: TBA
Deadline to Register: August 4th at 7:00 PM
September – Uncovering ’80s Nostalgia
Film: TBA
Deadline to Register: September 1st at 7:00 PM
Screening + Discussion Date: September 29th at 7:00 PM
October – Get Out
Book: Jordan Peele’s Get Out: Political Horror by Dawn Keetley
Film: TBA
Deadline to Register: October 6th at 7:00 PM
Screening + Discussion Date: October 27th at 7:00 PM
November – Desiree Akhavan
Book: Late Bloomer by Desiree Akhavan
Film: TBA
Deadline to Register: November 3rd at 7:00 PM
Screening + Discussion Date: November 24th at 7:00 PM
December – It’s A Wonderful Life
Book: The Essential It’s a Wonderful Life: A Scene-by-Scene Guide to the Classic Film by Michael Willian
Film: TBA
Deadline to Register: December 1st at 7:00 PM
Screening + Discussion Date: December 29th at 7:00 PM
Past Titles:
January – David Lynch
Book: Lynch on Lynch by Chris Rodley
Film: Mulholland Drive (dir. David Lynch, 2001)
February – Nora Ephron
Book: I’ll Have What She’s Having: How Nora Ephron’s Three Iconic Films Saved the Romantic Comedy by Erin Carlson
Film: When Harry Met Sally… (dir. Rob Reiner, 1989)
March – Hitchcock
Book: Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (Cambridge Film Handbooks) by John Belton
Film: Rear Window (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1954)
April – Prince
Book: Purple Rain: Music on Film Series by John Kenneth Muir
Film: Purple Rain (dir. Albert Magnoli, 1984)
May – Ozu Yasujiro
Book: The Cinema of Ozu Yasujiro: Histories of the Everyday by Woojeong Joo
Film: An Autumn Afternoon (dir. Yasujirō Ozu, 1962)
June – Do the Right Thing
Book: BFI Film Classics: Do The Right Thing by Ed Guerrero
Film: Do the Right Thing (dir. Spike Lee, 1989)
July – Don’t Look Now
Book: BFI Film Classics: Don’t Look Now by Mark Sanderson
Film: Don’t Look Now (dir. Nicolas Roeg, 1973)
August – Coraline
Book: Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Film: Coraline (dir. Henry Selick, 2009)
September – Twilight
Book: The Twilight Mystique: Critical Essays on the Novels and Films edited by Amy M. Clarke and Marijane Osborn
Film: Twilight (dir. Catherine Hardwicke, 2008)
October – Halloween III
Book: The Films of John Carpenter by John Kenneth Muir
Film: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (dir. Tommy Lee Wallace, 1982)
November – John Singleton
Book: John Singleton Interviews, edited by Craigh Barboza
Film: Boyz n the Hood (dir. John Singleton, 1991)
December – Todd Haynes
Book: Todd Haynes: Interviews, edited by Julia Leyda
Film: Carol(dir. Todd Haynes, 2015)
January – Charlie Chaplin
Book: Charlie Chaplin: A Brief Life by Peter Ackroyd
Film: City Lights (dir. Charlie Chaplin, 1931)
February – This is Spinal Tap
Book: This is Spinal Tap: Music on Film Series by John Kenneth Muir
Film: This is Spinal Tap (dir. Rob Reiner, 1984)
March – Women in Horror (Virtual edition!)
Book: Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in Modern Horror Film by Carol J. Clover
Film: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (dir. Ana Lily Amirpour, 2014)
April – Women’s Work and Old Hollywood (Virtual edition!)
Book: Independent Stardom: Freelance Women in the Studio System by Emily Carman
Film: Double Indemnity (dir. Billy Wilder, 1944)
May – Jane Campion (Virtual edition!)
Book: Jane Campion: Authorship and Personal Cinema by Alistair Fox
Film: The Piano (dir. Jane Campion, 1993)
June – Racial Politics and Hollywood (Virtual edition!)
Book: The Hollywood Jim Crow: The Racial Politics of the Movie Industry by Maryann Erigha
Film: The Magnificent Seven (dir. Antoine Fuqua, 2016)
July – Christopher Nolan (Virtual edition!)
Book: Christopher Nolan: A Critical Study of the Films
Film: Memento (dir. Christopher Nolan, 2000)
August – ’80s Comedy Mavericks
Book: Wild and Crazy Guys: How the Comedy Mavericks of the ’80s Changed Hollywood Forever
Film: Beverly Hills Cop (dir. Martin Brest, 1984)
September – Sofia Coppola
Book: Sofia Coppola: The Politics of Visual Pleasure
Film: The Virgin Suicides (dir. Sofia Coppola, 1999)
October – The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Book: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Film That Terrified a Rattled Nation
Film: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (dir. Tobe Hooper, 1974)
November – Agnes Varda
Book: Cléo de 5 à 7
Film: Cléo de 5 à 7 (dir. Agnes Varda, 1962)
December – Christmas Movies!
Book: The Christmas Movie Book
Film: Little Women (dir. Greta Gerwig, 2019)