Coney Island Film Festival opening night screening:
Friday, September 26, 2008 - 7:30pm

Short Presentation: Down The Hatch

Our Feature Presentation: Sideshow Still Alive

Coney Island Museum, 1208 Surf Ave. 2nd Floor Tickets for the opening night screening & party are $25. Tickets for the screening only are $6.

Advanced sale for this event has ended. Tickets are available at the box office (cash only). 718-372-5159.

Tickets for the opening night screening and party $25 (includes screening, party with open bar 9:30pm-12:30am, burlesque and sideshow performances) are available in person (cash only) at The Coney Island USA Gift Shop/Box Office, 1208 Surf Avenue Ground Floor from 6:45pm - 10pm.

Tickets for the screening only, $6 are available in person at The Coney Island USA Gift Shop/Box Office, 1208 Surf Avenue Ground Floor from 6:45pm - 7:30pm.

Short Presentation
Down The Hatch - : The Life Teachings of John "Red" Stuart
Andrew David Watson, Philadelphia, PA, Doc Short, 20 Minutes



The American sideshow survives in a working-class neighborhood in Philadelphia, where one of the greatest sword swallowers of all time -- the last of legends -- teaches his craft to the next generation.

At age 18, John 'Red' Stuart hitch-hiked to New Orleans, where the sword, literally and figuratively, was handed over from legendary sideshow owner Toni Del Rio. Red spent the next 30 years learning the ins and outs of the sideshow business from the masters.

After retiring from the road in the early 1990s, Red returned to his hometown of Philadelphia, where he continues to perform in sideshows and act as a mentor to the next generation.

Down the Hatch takes a look at Red’s colorful career and his recent role in helping to fuel a resurgence in sideshows. Red’s story is told through interviews, archival material and performance footage. With the oral history of the American Sideshow slowing slipping away, Down the Hatch helps preserve this uniquely American legacy.