14 Films to See at the 2015 Sidewalk Film Festival

This will be my third year attending Sidewalk Film Festival and there is just something about this three-day extravaganza in Birmingham, Alabama that gets me more excited than just about anything else that happens all year.

It's not just the fact that there are so many good films to see that you will inevitably kick yourself for missing one simply because you chose another (a great problem to have). It's not just the fact that they close down 3rd Avenue and have a street party all weekend long with food and games and vendors. It's not just that the Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz Festival is one block away, adding even more electricity to the city. It's not just the amazing staff of Sidewalk—all of whom I admire so deeply. It's not even just the cake bites from Urban Standard.

It's all of this and more—an x-factor, if you will—that this incredible film festival possesses. A charm all it's own, amazing theaters, wonderful film programming, great parties, delectable food. I'm gushing, I know, but I simply can't help it. Sidewalk is The Perfect Storm.

At the heart of it, though, is truly the love of film. It reflects in their program every year and this year is certainly no exception! I have compiled a list of 14 can't-miss films for you to check out this year, and then added 8 more that you might have already seen on the Georgia film festival circuit, but certainly warrant a revisit.

ATLFF Reviews: "Christmas, Again" (****) & "Funny Bunny" (***)

Kentucker Audley stars in "Christmas, Again." 

“Christmas, Again,” written and directed by Charles Poekel, is so subtle a film that it runs the risk of being periphery. It’s a piece so quiet and observational that it doesn’t require (nor does it want) a spotlight; it’s not flashy or loud or jokey. It doesn’t demand the viewers attention by being conventional and melodramatic and lurid. “Christmas, Again,” does just the opposite, in fact… it elevates honesty and character and successfully captures what it means to be lonely. 

Despite the quiet and hushed tenor of “Christmas, Again,” Kentucker Audley, who plays the film’s central character, Noel, won’t let you look away. He’s the steady, unrelenting heartbeat of this film, and his performance is so small and toned and thoughtful. He looks like a more handsome version of Martin Freeman and performs and acts in a way that, to me, really resonates with an extremely versatile actor like Ryan Gosling… but, like, Ryan Gosling when he’s doing his best kind of work- quirky, character-driven independent dramas.