Reeling Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival Returns In September. Here’s The Lineup

LAKEVIEW — Chicago’s preeminent LGBTQ+ film festival — and the second-longest-running festival of its kind in the world — is gearing up for its 44th edition.

The Reeling Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival, presented by Chicago Filmmakers, 1326 W. Hollywood Ave., has been showcasing queer independent cinema since Chicago Filmmakers executive director Brenda Webb founded the festival in 1981. Since then, it has spent decades presenting cinematic depictions of the vast umbrella of queer experience to generations of Chicagoans, even as mainstream cinema has been slow to keep up with representation of LGBTQ+ stories. 

Running from September 17-27, Reeling’s 44th year will present 36 feature films and 59 short films (organized into 10 shorts programs) from 22 countries around the world, including South Africa, Australia, Brazil, Israel, Spain, Canada and Mexico, according to a press release. All films, except for opening and closing night, will screen at the Landmark Century Centre Cinema, 2828 N. Clark St.

Individual tickets are $15 ($13 for members) for regular screenings, while tickets to the opening night film are $20 ($55 including an after-film party); member tickets are $18. Attendees can also buy festival passes with access to multiple films at a time: $65 for 5, $125 for 10 or $150 for unlimited screenings throughout the fest. 

Richard Knight Jr., a local filmmaker and former Windy City Times film critic who programmed for Reeling for multiple years, said he was glad to return to his programming duties for the first time in four years. He co-programmed the Narrative Features program alongside previous Reeling programmer Tatum Yancey, who also leads the education department at Chicago Filmmakers.

“There is nothing like seeing a movie with your community,” Knight told Block Club, as he sees the festival as a way to experience a “huge breadth of every kind of queer representation” on screen, even (or perhaps especially) in an age where queer themes are becoming increasingly mainstreamed on screen. 

This year’s opening night film, screening at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave., is Cannes favorite “La Bola Negra (The Black Ball),” a Spanish film from Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, which charts the interconnected lives of three gay men (Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González) across three different time periods, from the Spanish Civil War to Franco’s rise. Glenn Close and Penélope Cruz also star. 

“It’s a masterwork,” Knight told Block Club. “Having been steeped in queer cinema for so long, my reaction to this was like after seeing ‘Brokeback Mountain’ or ‘Moonlight’ or ‘Carol’ for the first time.”

“La Bola Negra” will screen at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave., 6:30 p.m. Sept. 17.

The festival’s narrative centerpiece is Fia Perera’s trans coming-of-age story “Mermaid,” about a young trans child (Devyn McDowell) who bonds with a grief-stricken drag queen (Arturo Luiz Soria) on their journey to accepting themselves. It screens 5 p.m. Sept. 19.

The festival’s closing night film, presented at Chicago Filmmakers, is a 30th-anniversary screening of Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s seminal queer documentary “The Celluloid Closet.” Based on queer activist and film historian Vito Russo’s book of the same name, the doc charts the trajectory of queer representations in films, whether overt or covert, from the beginnings of cinema to the 1990s.

The screening, which takes place 6 p.m. Sept. 27, is sponsored by Legacy Project founder Victor Salvo. “What I love about this film is that it’s all of us,” Knight said. “It’s gay, it’s straight, it’s lesbian, it’s bisexual. Everything is touched upon.”

Other highlights of the fest include:

“Test”: Follows an amateur bodybuilder (Brock Yurich) struggling with his sexuality while trying to build his career in rural Ohio and clashing with his devoutly religious mother (Tammy Blanchard). “It’s beautifully acted, shot and edited,” said Knight. “I’m super-excited for audiences to see that.” Screens 7 p.m. Sept. 19. 

“Jaripeo”: A Sundance fave, Efraín Mojica and Rebecca Zweig’s observational documentary probes the struggles that gay Mexican rodeo riders have between the machismo of jaripeo culture and their sexuality. Screens 6:30 p.m. Sept. 24.

“Meeting Marsha”: This sharply comic debut from writer-director McKenzie Goodwin offers a “Parent Trap”-like lesbian farce about an aspiring actress whose plan to propose to her girlfriend gets thrown out the window when her biological mother (“The Parent Trap”‘s Elaine Hendrix) drops by as a comedic fly in the ointment. “Abbott Elementary” and “Parent Trap” star Lisa Ann Walter also cameos. Screens 6:30 p.m. Sept. 23.

“Son of Sara”: Houston Bone’s bone-chilling queer horror comedy turns “Rosemary’s Baby” on its head, as a pregnant lesbian confronts the family of her baby’s father at their spooky estate, only to find that her child is part of a gore-soaked Satanic ritual. “It is batsh*t fabulous and crazy,” gushed Knight. Screens 9:30 p.m. Sept. 19.

“I Am Going to Miss You”: This tender T4T relationship drama from “The Way He Looks” director Daniel Ribiero charts the crumbling of a courtship between trans lovers Amanda and Caio, whose long-standing love is endangered by the changes and challenges of their differing paths. “This is such a special film,” said Knight, who notes that the film is entirely cast with trans actors. Screens 6:45 p.m. Sept. 24.

You can find more information about the Reeling Film Festival, including screening schedules and descriptions of the films being shown, on the fest website.