Sidewalk chosen to host Sundance Film Festival as a satellite site

Sidewalk welcomes Sundance Film Festival
Sidewalk Cinema at the Pizitz. Photo by Matthew Niblett

This is a match made in heaven and a big coup for the Magic City.

Sidewalk Film Center + Cinema and the Sidewalk Film Festival announced yesterday that they have been selected to host the 2021 Sundance Film Festival as a satellite location. Birmingham will be one of only thirty locations nationwide partnering with the prestigious festival. 

Sundance to Sidewalk

Birmingham, Sidewalk Film Festival
Don’t worry, concessions will still be available for your movie snack. Photo via Matthew Niblett for Bham Now

Here is Sidewalk’s statement about the partnership and what to expect in 2021.

“Sidewalk is thrilled to have been selected as one of only 30 sites across the country to partner with Sundance, a leader in the independent film industry for over 40 years, for their unique 2021 Festival. Our organization has a long history of providing unique content to the Birmingham community and building audiences for indie films from around the world and we see this exciting partnership with Sundance as an extension of those efforts. We look forward to welcoming local audiences to our pop-up drive-in and cinema (with lots of health and safety precautions in place) as a satellite screen for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.”

The seven-day 2021 Sundance Film Festival runs January 28 through February 3, 2021. The Festival will offer a digitally custom-designed online platform (festival.sundance.org) alongside drive-ins, independent arthouses, and a network of local community partnerships. 

Local Partnerships

Sidewalk logo at theater
Photo by Matthew Niblett for Bham Now

“These partners are the backbone of independent artistic communities across the country, where filmmakers are born and cinephiles are developed,” said Sundance Institute Executive Director Keri Putnam.. “We’re entering these partnerships because a healthy ecosystem for artists and audiences requires that independent cinemas across the country survive and thrive.”

Bookmark Sidewalk‘s website and follow them on social media to receive the latest details on Sundance Film Festival and upcoming shows.

Pat Byington
Pat Byington

Longtime conservationist. Former Executive Director at the Alabama Environmental Council and Wild South. Publisher of the Bama Environmental News for more than 18 years. Career highlights include playing an active role in the creation of Alabama's Forever Wild program, Little River Canyon National Preserve, Dugger Mountain Wilderness, preservation of special places throughout the East through the Wilderness Society and the strengthening (making more stringent) the state of Alabama's cancer risk and mercury standards.

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