2021 Jury

Verton Banks is best known as the diligent medical intern Vernon on the HBO comedy “Getting On” starring Laurie Metcalf, Niecy Nash and Alex Borstein. Verton can be seen in the upcoming Ryan Murphy show, “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” on Netflix. Recent appearances also include FOX’s “9-1-1,” Hulu’s “Dollface,” FX’s “Snowfall,” “Comisery” on Amazon and “Eastsiders” on Netflix.

Lauren Jacobs is a Black queer Birmingham native and Sidewalk alum with a real degree in film, a fake degree in The L Word, and the position of Assistant Director at Magic City Acceptance Center, where she provides community building direct services for LGBTQ youth and adults across Alabama.

Kayla Myers is an artist, writer, and film programmer. Currently, she works primarily as a programmer at the Indie Memphis Film Festival, the 2021 San Francisco Documentary Festival, and as the Series Producer for The DocYard in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is passionate about intersectional feminist practices within the arts, making film more accessible to those not living in large filmmaking centers, and developing audiences with a thoughtful, community-centered approach.

Matt Grady is the founder of Factory 25, a Brooklyn independent film production and distribution company launched in 2009. Factory 25 is a home for conceptually provocative narratives and documentaries. Grady was named “One of the Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture” and has been called “one of the most important curatorial voices of new, independent American films.” His mission is to expose the world to under-the-radar films, music, and other curiosities.

Aaron Hillis is a film curator and  consultant who was praised by Brooklyn Magazine as one of “The 100 Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture” alongside Lena Dunham and Spike Lee. His writing has appeared in The Village Voice, VICE, Variety, Vanity Fair and other outlets that don’t begin with V. Since lockdown, he has been hosting a private Zoom screening series with guests like Paul Schrader, Robert Townsend, Nina Menkes, Alice Cooper and Sparks.

Kayla Myers is an artist, writer, and film programmer. Currently, she works primarily as a programmer at the Indie Memphis Film Festival, the 2021 San Francisco Documentary Festival, and as the Series Producer for The DocYard in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is passionate about intersectional feminist practices within the arts, making film more accessible to those not living in large filmmaking centers, and developing audiences with a thoughtful, community-centered approach.

Andrea Krauss’s professional background in television, film and video with a concentration on independent film spans over more than two decades. Producing credits include: Dalila Ali Rajah’s short film “Secret & Toys” with Quentin Lee directing, “Grown This Way” and “Cock N’ Bull 2″ directed by Nathan Adloff and “Cinema Conversations with Stephen P. Jarchow”, a docu series for Here Television. Currently resides in O’ahu, Hawaii, and curates the Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival. Follow on Instagram: kraussinthehaus

Cameron McAllister is a writer/producer, film critic and the Associate Director for the Atlanta Film Society, where he has helped propel the 44-year-old Academy Award-qualifying Atlanta Film Festival to its place as one of the nation’s premiere independent film showcases. He founded and manages the Georgia Film Critics Association, one of the largest and most highly regarded film critics group in the Southeastern United States. He also formerly served as Executive Director for the Rome International Film Festival and currently operates the Atlanta chapter of the Rachel Morgan fan club.

As the youngest juror in Sidewalk history, I have served for the last five years on the family jury. Visiting Birmingham and helping Rachel Morgan and the amazing team here pick the winners has been a distinct honor and privilege. I’m a rising freshman at Oberlin College now, and luckily the semester starts extraordinarily late, so I am able to serve at Sidewalk 2021.

Skizz Cyzyk has held positions, and served on juries, at several festivals over the past three decades. He has been an annual juror for Sidewalk since year one (1999) except 2013, when the film he co-directed, “Hit & Stay” won Best Documentary Feature, and 2018, when his film “Icepick to the Moon,” won the Audience Award for Best Alabama Film. He plays music with Half Japanese, The Jennifers, Go Pills, The Stents, and Mink Stole & Her Wonderful Band.

Becca Greene is a film and TV Writer based in Los Angeles. She was a staff writer on MTV’s “Good Vibes.” Her feature film script, “The Beard,” was optioned by Reese Witherspoon, and Becca has adapted several Italian films for the De Laurentiis family. Becca is currently working on rewrites of the feature screenplay, “Darby Harper Wants You to Know,”which is slated to go into production this year with Hulu and Footprint Features.

Ondi Timoner is known to be one of the greatest talents in non-fiction filmmaking. She often takes on the stories of visionaries fighting against all odds with a gripping and unique mixed-media, narrative style. Ondi has the rare distinction of winning the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival twice – for her documentaries DIG! (2004) and We Live In Public (2009). Both films were acquired by MoMA, NY for its permanent collection. Other award-winning features include: The Nature of the Beast (1994), Join Us (2007), Cool It (2010), Brand: A Second Coming (2015) & Coming Clean (2020). Timoner has also directed countless award-winning shorts, among them “Library of Dust” in 2011, “Amanda Palmer on the Rocks” in 2014 and “The Last Mile” in 2015.

Onur Tukel is the writer/director of the feature films “Catfight,” “Ding-a-ling-LESS,” Richard’s Wedding,” “Summer of Blood,” “Applesauce,” “The Misogynists,” “Black Magic for White Boys,” “ScenesFrom An Empty Church” and “That Cold Dead Look In Your Eyes,” which will be released in the fall of 2021. He has written and illustrated four children’s books, including “The Legend of Halloween” (with David Gordon Green). Tukel was also the fear consultant on “Halloween Kills”.

Farah White is a writer, producer, director and actress. Her love for the entire filmmaking process is obvious by the wide spectrum of genres in her resume which spans over 20 years. She has produced over 30 feature films, shorts, and TV pilots in addition to acting in over 50 films. She recently UPM’d Solange’s Video Album “When I get Home” and has a juicy role in “What Josiah Saw” starring Nick Stahl, Kelli Garner and Tony Hale.

Lauren Wissot is a film critic and journalist, filmmaker and programmer, and a contributing editor at both Filmmaker magazine and Documentary magazine. She also writes for Modern Times Review (Europe) and has served as the director of programming at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival and the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival.

As the youngest juror in Sidewalk history, I have served for the last five years on the family jury. Visiting Birmingham and helping Rachel Morgan and the amazing team here pick the winners has been a distinct honor and privilege. I’m a rising freshman at Oberlin College now, and luckily the semester starts extraordinarily late, so I am able to serve at Sidewalk 2021.

Lauren Jacobs is a Black queer Birmingham native and Sidewalk alum with a real degree in film, a fake degree in The L Word, and the position of Assistant Director at Magic City Acceptance Center, where she provides community building direct services for LGBTQ youth and adults across Alabama.

Cameron McAllister is a writer/producer, film critic and the Associate Director for the Atlanta Film Society, where he has helped propel the 44-year-old Academy Award-qualifying Atlanta Film Festival to its place as one of the nation’s premiere independent film showcases. He founded and manages the Georgia Film Critics Association, one of the largest and most highly regarded film critics group in the Southeastern United States. He also formerly served as Executive Director for the Rome International Film Festival and currently operates the Atlanta chapter of the Rachel Morgan fan club.

Verton Banks is best known as the diligent medical intern Vernon on the HBO comedy “Getting On” starring Laurie Metcalf, Niecy Nash and Alex Borstein. Verton can be seen in the upcoming Ryan Murphy show, “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” on Netflix. Recent appearances also include FOX’s “9-1-1,” Hulu’s “Dollface,” FX’s “Snowfall,” “Comisery” on Amazon and “Eastsiders” on Netflix.

Morgan Doctor is an American/Canadian, Juno and Dora nominated musician and composer. Her career took a leap when she joined the rock band The Cliks (Warner Music) who toured with such acts as Cyndi Lauper, The B-52s, Erasure, Tegan and Sara and The Cult, playing in such iconic venues as Radio City Music Hall, Red Rocks Amphitheater, The Greek Amphitheater and Massey Hall. She has played drums for Andy Kim, Ron Sexsmith, Feist, Don Felder (of the Eagles) and Chantal Kreviazuk and many other talented artists. Most recently Morgan scored the award winning documentary “Coming Clean,” directed by Ondi Timoner.

Andrea Krauss’s professional background in television, film and video with a concentration on independent film spans over more than two decades. Producing credits include: Dalila Ali Rajah’s short film “Secret & Toys” with Quentin Lee directing, “Grown This Way” and “Cock N’ Bull 2″ directed by Nathan Adloff and “Cinema Conversations with Stephen P. Jarchow”, a docu series for Here Television. Currently resides in O’ahu, Hawaii, and curates the Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival. Follow on Instagram: kraussinthehaus