'' The Barber of Birmingham '' is a 2011 documentary film about James Armstrong , one of the unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement . A World War II veteran and an original flag bearer for the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches , Armstrong has run a voter education program out of his barbershop in Birmingham , Alabama for 50 years . The film was co-directed and produced by Gail Dolgin and Robin Fryday . It premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival , three months after Dolgin 's death in October 2010 from breast cancer . It was named best short documentary at the Ashland Independent Film Festival . The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary ( Short Subject ) at the 84th Academy Awards . It later aired on television on the PBS series '' POV ''
84th Academy Awards
84th Academy Awards
The Barber of Birmingham