Reeling: The 39th Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival

Narrative Features

Firebird – Opening Night!

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Opening night film, FIREBIRD, is an epic love story set against the backdrop of the 1970s Cold War, telling the story of two military men in the Soviet Air Force whose clandestine, illegal affair threatens their careers and their lives.

Documentary Features

North By Current – Documentary Centerpiece!

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In NORTH BY CURRENT, trans filmmaker Angelo Madsen Minax’s return to his rural Michigan home to investigate the mysterious death of his young niece becomes an excavation of deeply buried traumas within his family.

Narrative Features

The Sixth Reel – Closing Night!

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Legendary drag performer Charles Busch (PSYCHO BEACH PARTY; DIE, MOMMIE, DIE!) returns to Reeling with THE SIXTH REEL, his hilarious tribute to movie mania.

Narrative Features

At the End of Evin

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AT THE END OF EVIN tells an intriguing and suspenseful story from a fresh perspective, placing the viewer in the shoes of a protagonist seeking gender reassignment surgery, who is faced with the formidable task of posing as someone else.

Narrative Features

Baja Come Down

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BAJA COME DOWN follows two women as they travel from LA to Mexico as a last ditch effort to save their relationship. Writer-director Anderson Matthew elicits compelling performances from his two young leads, Caitlin Michael Riley (Netflix’s TRINKETS) and Michelle Ortiz (MADtv).

Narrative Features

Beyto

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BEYTO tells the story of a 19-year-old Turkish immigrant who must choose between his feelings for his openly gay swim coach or his obligation to marry his childhood friend to appease his family.

Narrative Features

Boy Culture: The Series

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BOY CULTURE: THE SERIES picks up ten years after the original gay audience favorite from 2006 made as a web series with Derek Magyar reprising his role as “X.”

Narrative Features

Boy Meets Boy

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A brief romantic encounter in Berlin between Harry, about to fly home to the UK, and the German man he meets on the dance floor of a club the night before turns into something neither expected in BOY MEETS BOY.

Narrative Features

Down in Paris

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Fifth-time feature director (and actor) Hickling, known for his gay themed movies, breaks new ground with this contemplative, insightful portrait of a gay man in DOWN IN PARIS.

Narrative Features

Firebird – Opening Night!

This rental is no longer available

Opening night film, FIREBIRD, is an epic love story set against the backdrop of the 1970s Cold War, telling the story of two military men in the Soviet Air Force whose clandestine, illegal affair threatens their careers and their lives.

Narrative Features

Isaac

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ISAAC is a poignant, sensual drama about two married men who meet in a café decades after their intense affair as teenagers.

Narrative Features

Jump, Darling

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Featuring the brilliant Cloris Leachman in her final starring role, JUMP, DARLING is about a rookie drag queen, reeling from a break-up, who escapes to the country, where he finds his grandmother in steep decline yet desperate to avoid the local nursing home.

Narrative Features

Lola

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Starring rising trans actress Mya Bollaers as the titular heroine, LOLA is a sensitive yet impassioned telling of familial trauma, grief, and trans identity as it tells the story of an eighteen-year-old transgender woman who must put her gender re-assignment surgery on hold to go on an emotional road trip…

Narrative Features

Love, Spells and All That

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LOVE, SPELLS AND ALL THAT tells a mystical story of love between two women reunited twenty years after the end of their affair.

Narrative Features

Mascarpone

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MASCARPONE is a warm-hearted dramedy about 30-year-old twink Antonio who, after being dumped by his husband, reinvents himself as a baker surrounded by delectable Italian men and mouth-watering baked treats.

Narrative Features

My Fiona

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MY FIONA tells a beautiful story of two women who come together in shared grief and end up in an unexpected relationship.

Narrative Features

Nora Highland

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Based on a play of the same name, NORA HIGHLAND follows the casting process of a gay character in an upcoming Broadway revival and explores the phenomenon of straight performers being lauded for their work in queer roles, while queer actors are often denied these roles themselves.

Narrative Features

One In A Thousand

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ONE IN A THOUSAND follows Iris who spends her summer days hooping and hanging out with other teens in her social housing neighborhood, but things heat up when she meets the "older" mysterious Renata.

Narrative Features

Poppy Field

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Inspired by true events, POPPY FIELD tells the story of Christi, a closeted police officer, who is taken away from his romantic weekend away to quell a protest at a local movie theater where a far-right group has interrupted the screening of a queer film.

Narrative Features

Potato Dreams of America

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In POTATO DREAMS OF AMERICA, writer/director Wes Hurley views his coming of age misadventures through the whimsical filter of childhood memory and wonder.

Narrative Features

Saint-Narcisse

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Inspired by the ancient Greek myth and set in the sexual liberation of the early 1970s, SAINT-NARCISSE is Bruce LaBruce’s love letter to the psychosexual thrillers of that era.

Narrative Features

See You Then

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Trans director Mari Walker's directorial debut SEE YOU THEN tells the tale of two people who used to be in love and have since moved on to lead very different lives.

Narrative Features

Sweetheart

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SWEETHEART tells the story of a socially awkward, environmentally conscious teenager named AJ, who is dragged to a coastal holiday park by her painfully “normal” family, where she becomes unexpectedly captivated by a chlorine-smelling, sun-loving lifeguard named Isla.

Narrative Features

The Greenhouse

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THE GREENHOUSE is an enchanting tale, artfully blending gothic fantasy, an intimate family drama, and the romantic intimacy of a once-in-a-lifetime love as it tells the tale of a woman who awakens one night to find a portal to the past inside an abandoned greenhouse.

Narrative Features

The Sixth Reel – Closing Night!

This rental is no longer available

Legendary drag performer Charles Busch (PSYCHO BEACH PARTY; DIE, MOMMIE, DIE!) returns to Reeling with THE SIXTH REEL, his hilarious tribute to movie mania.

Narrative Features

Walk With Me

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WALK WITH ME follows the emotional journey of a young mother who leaves her husband to find her footing in the world and stumbles into an unexpected romance with a free-spirited musician.

Documentary Features

Being BeBe

BEING BEBE tells the awe-inspiring story of Marshall Ngwa, the creative mind behind BeBe Zahara Benet, who overcame all obstacles to be crowned champion in the first season of RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE and one of the leading artists celebrating Black Queer Excellence today.

Documentary Features

Boulevard! A Hollywood Story

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Reeling favorite Jeffrey Schwarz returns to the festival with BOULEVARD! A HOLLYWOOD STORY, which tells the little known story of Gloria Swanson’s attempt to turn SUNSET BOULEVARD into a musical.

Documentary Features

Gemmel & Tim

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GEMMEL & TIM is a documentary that traces Gemmel “Juelz” Moore and Timothy “Tim” Dean’s parallel walks of life prior to their deaths due to a meth overdose at the now-infamous Laurel Street apartment of businessman Ed Buck, a once influential political donor and LGBTQ activist, now convicted for their…

Documentary Features

Invisible: Gay Women in Southern Music

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INVISIBLE: GAY WOMEN IN SOUTHERN MUSIC is a documentary that sings the praises of the unsung lesbians of the Nashville Southern Music industry whose songwriting was the driving force behind some of country’s biggest stars.

Documentary Features

Marry Me However

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MARRY ME HOWEVER explores the lives of Orthodox Jewish LGBT men and women who willingly choose to marry a heterosexual in order to raise a heteronormative family, obeying the rules of their societies while denying their own identities.

Documentary Features

No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics

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NO STRAIGHT LINES: THE RISE OF QUEER COMICS details the extraordinary emergence of five scrappy pioneering queer comic book cartoonists as they go from being featured in gay newspapers and bookstores to worldwide fame.

Documentary Features

North By Current – Documentary Centerpiece!

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In NORTH BY CURRENT, trans filmmaker Angelo Madsen Minax’s return to his rural Michigan home to investigate the mysterious death of his young niece becomes an excavation of deeply buried traumas within his family.

Documentary Features

The Journey of Monalisa

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THE JOURNEY OF MONALISA tells the story of Chilean director and playwright, Ivan Ojeda, who now lives life as an illegal immigrant two-spirit sex worker in New York City.

Documentary Features

Queens of the Revolution

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QUEENS OF THE REVOLUTION introduces viewers to members of a vibrant community of drag queens in Santa Clara who perform at Mejunje, a cultural center that paved the road for LGBTQ+ rights in Cuba.

Documentary Features

Yes I Am – The Ric Weiland Story

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Narrated by Zachary Quinto, YES I AM - THE RIC WEILAND STORY profiles the life and legacy of Microsoft’s Ric Weiland, one of the great philanthropists in American history and an unsung hero to the queer community.

Short Programs

Deal with the Real: Nonfiction Shorts

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This program spotlights six unique works of nonfiction, ranging from traditional documentary to more experimental essays. From celebrations...

Short Programs

Revolutions of the Heart: Sapphic Shorts

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From the thrill of a first kiss to the grief of saying goodbye, these shorts explore lesbian love...

Short Programs

Showcase: Global Queer Drama

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This program collects three dramas from around the world that explore various aspects of the queer experience. From...

Short Programs

Getting Familiar: Gay Shorts

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Love, lust, and longing define these shorts about gay intimacy and romance, ranging from one-night stands to life-long...

Short Programs

Intensities

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One’s fears can become fuel for erotic fantasies or the stuff of nightmares. This mixture of thrillers, horror,...

Short Programs

Keep Going: Stories of Queer Resilience

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There is no shortage of struggles for LGBTQ people. From the lingering trauma of AIDS to bigotry and...

Short Programs

Seeking Connection

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Loneliness can strike in an empty apartment or a crowded club. In these shorts, characters struggle to find...

Short Programs

Global Trans Stories

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These four shorts from around the world showcase the spectrum of trans experiences. From facing medical gatekeeping, reconnecting...

Short Programs

Intimacies

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Intimacy describes a closeness and familiarity shared between two humans. From love at first sight to childbirth and...