We are so excited to share with you some of the films that will be screening and streaming at Reeling: The 39th Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival! Reeling elevates LGBTQ+ films and is the second oldest film festival of its kind that features films from all over the world. This year, the festival kicks off at the Music Box Theatre and will continue at the Landmark in Chicago, as well as stream films virtually. Here’s our preview of some of the female-identifying directed films of the festival. We love queer cinema and we’re so happy Reeling has a platform for queer stories. Visit reelingfilmfestival.org to learn more about the festival, the films and to get your tickets/passes! The festival opens Thursday, September 23rd at The Music Box Theatre and runs in person and virtually until 10/7.
FEATURES
WALK WITH ME – Isabel del Rosal
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.
In-Theatre Screening at Landmark | Friday, September 24 | 7:00 PM
Streaming Online from September 27 to October 3 | U.S. Only
ONE IN A THOUSAND – Clarisa Navas
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.
In-Theatre Screening at Landmark | Saturday, September 25 | 1:00 PM
Streaming Online from September 28 to October 4 | U.S. Only
NO STRAIGHT LINES: THE RISE OF QUEER COMICS – Vivian Kleiman
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.
In-Theatre Screening at Landmark | Saturday, September 25 | 5:15 PM
Streaming Online from September 28 to October 4 | U.S. Only
SWEETHEART – Marley Morrison
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.
In-Theatre Screening at Landmark | Saturday, September 25 | 7:00 PM
Streaming Online from September 28 to October 4 | Illinois Only
SEE YOU THEN – Mari Walker
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.
In-Theatre Screening at Landmark | Sunday, September 26 | 5:00 PM
Streaming Online from September 29 to October 5 | U.S. Only
THE JOURNEY OF MONALISA – Nicole Costa
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.
In-Theatre Screening at Landmark | Tuesday, September 28 | 9:15 PM
Streaming Online from October 1 to October 7 | U.S. Only
MY FIONA – Kelly Walker
MY FIONA tells a beautiful story of two women who come together in shared grief and end up in an unexpected relationship.
In-Theatre Screening at Landmark | Thursday, September 30 | 6:45 PM
Streaming Online from October 1 to October 7 | Illinois Only
SHORTS
There are nine shorts programs screening and streaming for Reeling39, we are going to highlight one of the nine that feature shorts by mostly female-identifying filmmakers, but we would encourage you to check out the shorts CAUSE OF DEATH (Jyoti Mistry), EKAI (Arantza Ibarra Basañez), FEMME FOLLE (Hayley Bensmiller), PINK & BLUE (Carmen LoBue), I JUST WISH YOU TOLD ME (Michelle C. Bonilla), and NIGHTS AND DAYS IN JULY (Jana Bringlöv Ekspong) that are featured in the other programs.
Revolutions of the Heart: Sapphic Shorts
From the thrill of a first kiss to the grief of saying goodbye, these shorts explore lesbian love across all stages of relationships. With an emphasis on the work that it takes to shoot your shot or keep the love alive (even after death), the characters in these stories must navigate social pressures as well as their own baggage to find love and keep it going. In GIRLS SHOULDN’T WALK ALONE AT NIGHT (Katerine Martineau) desire takes hold as two young women find themselves walking home alone after a late-night graduation party. In ROADKILL (Aliza Brugger), a lonely roadkill removal worker has her routine upended when she helps a stranded driver in need of a tow. TOTAL CATCH (Sarah Clark) shows the behind-the-scenes anxieties of online Zoom dating, while in AIMEE VICTORIA (Chrystee Pharris) the relationship of two deaf women is tested during the struggles of lockdown. In ABBY AND EMILY GO TO PALM SPRINGS (Hellin Kay), two very different women try not to kill each other on their first vacation together. In MY MOTHER’S GIRLFRIEND (Arun Fulara) two Indian women in love must navigate the attitudes of one of their adult children, and NEW FLESH FOR THE OLD CEREMONY (Elizabeth Rakhilkina) explores grief through a macabre fable of a woman whose recently deceased wife possesses a pack of dogs.
In-Theatre Screening at Landmark | Saturday, September 25 | 9:00 PM
Streaming Online from September 28 to October 4 | Available Worldwide
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