COVID-19 and the preventive measures taken by the government has, understandably, disrupted much of public life. This is an incredibly tough time for teenagers especially, whose schooling has been completely overhauled with no warning, and many rites of passage associated with being a high school student, such as prom and graduation, have been taken away.

This is why we’re creating the Teen Video Challenge. The Challenge creates a platform for those teenagers to create a video diary of how COVID-19 is affecting them, and gives them a chance to show us how their lives have been altered.

We will accept up to 50 submissions from Birmingham area juniors and seniors. All submissions that follow our guidelines will be made available to watch on Sidewalk’s YouTube channel.

The top 5, as selected by the Sidewalk programming team, will receive a $100 stipend, 2 Sidewalk Film Festival passes, and automatic acceptance into the Sidewalk Film Festival as part of our teen filmmaker programming.

Submissions should be no more than ten minutes long and should not contain any copyrighted material, or material that depicts illegal activity.

Please submit between 4/1 and 4/15. There is no entry fee to participate. Submissions should be emailed to kiwi@sidewalkfest.com. Please include your name, what school you go to, and what year you are in the body of the email.

August 21-27, 2023

Sidewalk Film Festival

More info