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Poster for Sidewalk Stories
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Sidewalk Stories

Director: Charles Lane Run Time: 97 min. Format: DCP Rating: R Release Year: 1989

Starring: Charles Lane, Darnell Williams, Michael Baskin, Nicole Alysia, Sandye Wilson, Trula Hoosier

Join us for a special One-nite Only screening of the new restoration of Sidewalk Stories with director Charles Lane in person for a Q&A on December 4th!

Twenty years before The Artist, Sidewalk Stories portrays the friendship of a tramp and a child, in a moving and funny homage to Chaplin’s The Kid. Both witty and tender, Charles Lane’s gorgeous black and white comedy pays tribute to the silent film era, with a score composed by Marc Marder. Charles Lane accurately captures the daily life of the homeless population of New York with a cinéma vérité approach that undoubtedly reminds of Lionel Rogosin’s On the Bowery. His film is also an important work of the New African-American cinema of the 1980s, along with Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing and John Singleton’s Boyz N The Hood, that conveyed a strong political message. Finally, with this gripping tale of the underprivileged and its beautiful portrayal of the city, Sidewalk Stories uniquely draws on social satire to deliver a timeless message of generosity and love. 

Trailer