Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival Announces 42nd Edition Program

Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival today unveiled its full slate of programming for the 42nd edition of the second-longest running LGBTQ+ film festival in the world, unspooling September 19 - October 6, 2024 with in-person and virtual streaming presentations. This year's festival boasts 53 programs including 42 feature films and 11 short film programs, representing work from 18 different countries worldwide. Opening night will be held at the Music Box Theatre (3733 N. Southport Ave.), with screenings presented at hub theater Landmark's Century Centre Cinema (2828 N. Clark St.), and at Chicago Filmmakers Firehouse Cinema (1326 W. Hollywood Ave.).

The AARP-sponsored Silver Image Award will again be given to a film in the festival that best represents the experiences of an LGBTQ+ character over 55.

Opening Night's YOUNG HEARTS, Anthony Schatteman's beautifully filmed tale set in the Belgian countryside, captures the innocence and joy of first love as fourteen-year-old Elias's world is turned upside down when he meets his new classmate, Alexander. The opening night presentation screens Thursday September 19, 2024 at 7 p.m. at the Music Box Theatre, with a pre-screening reception honoring director Schatteman at 6 p.m.

ANY OTHER WAY: THE JACKIE SHANE STORY looks at one of music's pioneering Black trans performers, 1960's soul singer Jackie Shane. Directors Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee hand the mic over to one of the most beguiling artists of the 20th century, who finally reveals her extraordinary journey through never-before-heard conversations and dazzling animation in this year's Documentary Centerpiece presentation, Monday September 23, 2024 at the Landmark Century Centre Cinemas.

Actor Juan Pablo di Pace, who starred in 2023 Reeling Opening Night presentation THE MATTACHINE FAMILY, co-directs the Narrative Centerpiece selection, DUINO, alongside Andrés Pepe Estrada. The film follows a filmmaker struggling to finish a movie inspired by the memory of his elusive first love, and screens Thursday September 26, 2024 at the Landmark Century Centre Cinemas.

Additional highlights of this year's narrative program include Harrison Xu, Ivan Leung, and Katherine Dudas's EXTREMELY UNIQUE DYNAMIC, a meta-Asian-stoner-coming-of-age bromantic dramedy about two guys making a movie; Greyson Horst's hip and smart New York City-set comedy THROUPLE; Daniel Ribeiro's PERFECT ENDINGS, in which filmmaker João navigates the dating scene as the lines between reality and the fiction of the script he is writing start to blur; and HIGH TIDE, in which Brazilian immigrant Lourenço searches for purpose in the queer mecca of Provincetown, directed by Marco Calvani.

The documentary program includes Tzeli Hadjidimitriou's fascinating look at the history, beauty, and cultural importance of the Greek island Lesvos (a.k.a. Lesbos), birthplace of the first lesbian poet Sapphos, and oasis to lesbians who travel from all over the world to find community, in LESVIA; and Brian J. Smith's intimate and humorous year-in-the-life look into the history and present of gay mecca Fire Island Pines in A HOUSE IS NOT A DISCO.

The QuE3R FrAm3s Series, Reeling's new sidebar that focuses on experimental, fringe, and other non-mainstream films, presents an entirely retrospective lineup of three programs this year, including new HD transfers of pioneering physique photographer and filmmaker Bob Mizer's vintage 1950s-70s physique films; recent restorations of PINK ULYSSES, Eric de Kuyper's bold, underseen 1990 queer classic from The Netherlands; and Robert J. Kaplan's 1972 film SCARECROW IN A GARDEN OF CUCUMBERS, a long-forgotten NYC indie film featuring Andy Warhol superstar and trans icon Holly Woodlawn.

Reeling also presents 10 programs of new shorts in competition, selected from over 300 entries from around the globe.

Ticketing Information

Tickets are available online at www.reelingfilmfest.org in advance, or at the theater's box office on the day of the screening. Tickets for in-person screenings are $15 for regular screenings at Landmark's Century Centre Cinema and Chicago Filmmakers Firehouse Cinema, with the opening night film $15 for the film only or $50 for the film and pre-party in the Music Box Lounge. Virtual screenings: A limited number of programs will be available for streaming. Single Streaming Tickets are available at $11 and a Streaming Pass is available for $80. Various in-theater and hybrid in-theater/streaming passes are also available for purchase, and members receive discounts on tickets and passes.