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The month of November is just around the corner and of course that means it’s time for Reeling, the Chicago Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival. The second-oldest lesbian and gay film festival in the world, this is the 28th edition of Reeling with more than 150 innovative gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender films from countries as diverse as the Philippines, Sweden, Mexico, and Puerto Rico set to be shown. Produced by the dedicated folks over at Chicago Filmmakers, Reeling will take place November 5 - 15, 2009 with Showtime and Comcast as this year’s most gracious and generous Presenting Sponsors
Reeling 28 will present 59 different screenings, including 33 narrative feature films, 10 programs of documentary features and featurettes, and 16 programs of shorts. Other than the actual screenings there will also be several after-parties and a panel discussion. The Festival will host dozens of visiting filmmakers, producers, and actors who will be available for Q&A at screenings and will attend festival events. Just a few of this year’s expected guests are John Waters’ muse Mink Stole (Pink Flamingos), Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’s Jai Rodriguez, and star of the classic Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss and Parting Glances, Richard Ganoung.
In Starring Roles (& Parties)
Reeling’s Opening Night red carpet will get rolled out on on Thursday, November 5 at 7:30pm at the Music Box Theatre (3733 N. Southport Ave.) with The Big Gay Musical, a spirited dramedy that mixes elements of musical theater with a story of acceptance, discovery, friendship, lust, and love. Co-director Casper Andreas and lead actor Daniel Robinson will join in the festivities immediately following the screening at the Opening Night Gala, taking place at the unique Architectural Artifacts (4325 N. Ravenswood). The evening will feature a live performance by the Joan Crawford-inspired, hanger-wielding band The Joans.
Reeling 28 will end on an equally high note on Sunday, November 15 at the Music Box with the 7:30pm Closing Night screening of Oy Vey! My Son is Gay!!, featuring a star-studded cast that includes, among others, Lainie Kazan (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Jai Rodriquez (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy), Vincent Pastore (The Sopranos), comedian Bruce Vilanch, and Carmen Electra. Director Evgeny Afineevsky and Jai Rodriquez are scheduled to appear at the screening and after-party, which will also take place at Architectural Artifacts.
The Music Box Theatre will also be the setting for Reeling’s Documentary Centerpiece on Sunday, November 8 at 5pm, with the screening of locally produced film Fish Out of Water. Director Ky Dickens tackles the challenging subject of religion and homosexuality, exploring the specific Bible verses used to condemn homosexuality through interviews with Bible scholars, members of Chicago’s own LGBTQ community, and others, while adeptly managing to inject humor and levity into the subject by mixing in delightful animation. Ky Dickens and other members of the production crew will be in attendance at the screening to discuss the film with the audience. Immediately afterwards, the discussion will continue at the post-film reception hosted and sponsored by In Fine Spirits (5420 N. Clark St.).
John G. Young’s Rivers Wash Over Me was selected for Reeling’s Dramatic Centerpiece film, and will be screened at Film Row Cinema (1104 S. Wabash Ave.) on Saturday, November 14 at 9pm. A compelling drama about the ordeals of a sensitive, gay teen from NYC sent to live with family in Alabama after the death of his mother, Rivers Wash Over Me is a sobering reminder of the vulnerability of youth, especially those confronted by the dual brutalities of homophobia and racism. John G. Young and producer Dexter Davis will be in attendance and will be at Centerpiece after-party at Opera (1301 S. Wabash Ave.)
Another highlighted film in this year’s festival is Stuck!, Steve Balderson’s tongue-in-cheek homage to film noir women-in-prison movies that surprises by delivering much more than the genre promises. Stuck! stars the ever-fabulously strange Karen Black and John Waters’ muse Mink Stole, who will be the special guest at the screening, taking place on Friday, November 6 at 7pm at the Landmark Theater (2828 N. Clark St.). After the screening of Stuck!, Circuit Night Club (3641 N. Halsted St.) will host and sponsor Reeling’s “Lesbian Lockdown/Jail Break” prison-themed after-party, co-presented by Circuit Girl.
Reeling will present the World Premiere of another Chicago-based documentary, Riot Acts: Flaunting Gender Deviance in Music Performance, showing on Wednesday, November 11 at 7pm at the Landmark Theater. Director Madsen Minax interviews trans musicians performing in genres ranging from punk to folk to dance to rock-gender nonconformists. The Riot Acts After-party will take place immediately following at Jackhammer (6406 N. Clark St.).
Christmas comes early when Reeling screens Make the Yuletide Gay, a warm and toasty “coming home from college for the holidays” family comedy, showing at the Landmark Theater on Saturday, November 7 at 7:15 pm. There’s a pot-smoking dad, a true cheese-head mom, an oh-so-gay son, and a college boy who shows up unexpectedly to share the son’s bunk bed. This has the making for a holiday classic. Director Rob Williams will be in attendance for Q&A, as well as for a pre-release DVD signing at Borders Bookstore (across from the Landmark) and a party to follow.
Reeling will partner with the Queer Film Society for a special encore screening of the 1998 film Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss, starring Sean Hayes, Brad Rowe, and Richard Ganoung, at Film Row Cinema on Saturday, November 14 at 5pm. Ganoung, who also starred in the gay classic Parting Glances, will attend the screening to discuss the film with the audience.
The Queer Film Society will also host a free panel discussion,”New Queer Cinema: Now or Never,” at Film Row Cinema on Saturday, November 14 at 3pm, when Chicago’s gay film critics and others will share their insights on the state of independent queer cinema.
Interestingly, one notable theme will be present at Reeling 28: cute and cuddly babies! In addition to being and storyline in Oy Vey! My Son is Gay!!, having a baby drives several pther films at this year’s Festival. It’s pretty common to hear about a woman’s biological clock tick-tick-ticking, but in the French film Baby Love , Emmanuel, a gay pediatrician in his forties, longs for a child of his own; unfortunately, his long-time boyfriend’s clock doesn’t seem to be ticking to the same beat! (Friday, November 6; 9:30pm @ Landmark 7). The outlandish Canadian mockumentary The Baby Formula follows lab worker Athena and wife Lilith as they dare to boldly go where no couple has gone before: creating a baby with two biological mothers. (Friday, November 6, 9:15pm @ Landmark 6) In the Swedish film Patrik, Age 1.5 Sven and Göran are eager to adopt a newly available 1.5-year-old child. But, due to a typographical error, an embittered, homophobic 15-year-old juvenile delinquent shows up on their doorstep instead. (Thursday, November 12, 7pm @ Landmark 6).
The Supportive Cast
Despite the above-mentioned star power and cute, cuddly babies, there are lots of great films to see this year at Reeling 28. Screenings will be held at the following:
Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema - 2828 N. Clark St.;
Film Row Cinema @ Columbia College (FRC) - 1104 S. Wabash Ave.; and
Chicago Filmmakers (CF) - 5243 N. Clark St.
The narrative feature films that BOI readers may be most interested in include the following:
American Primitive (USA): In Cape Cod, 1973, two bereaved teenage girls react in different ways when they discover that their father is in love with his business partner, who has just moved into the family home. Sun, Nov 8; 7:30pm @ Landmark 7
And Then Came Lola (USA): With the fast-paced, colorful, fragmented style of the German film Run Lola Run, this time-bending tale chronicles the tempestuous journey of a commitment-phobic photographer. Sat, Nov 7; 9:15pm @ FRC
Baby Jane? (USA): Drag queens reprise the roles of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in the camp masterpiece What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Sat, Nov 7; 2pm @ Landmark 7
Boy (Philippines): A young poet sells his prized comic book collection to buy one sublime night with a beautiful “macho dancer.” Fri, Nov 6; 7:15pm @ Landmark 6
The Boy With the Sun in His Eyes (USA): When a quiet cubicle drone, John, joins an enigmatic new friend on a European holiday, he finds himself enveloped in a world of sex, drugs and assassinations. Sat, Nov 7; 9:15pm @ Landmark 7
Chef’s Special (Spain): A gay chef’s life starts to unravel when his bitter, deserted ex-wife dies and leaves him to raise the son and daughter that he never knew. Tue, Nov 10; 7pm @ Landmark 7
Drool (USA): After accidentally killing her abusive husband, a woman, her kids, and her lady lover take off on a cross-country road trip to bury daddy. Fri, Nov 13; 7pm @ FRC
Eating Out: All You Can Eat (USA): Offensively hilarious, the Eating Out franchise brings back busty, blonde Tiffani, who helps her scrawny friend Casey win the affections of the hot, unattainable Zack. Sat, Nov 7; 5pm @ Landmark 7
Fruit Fly (USA): By the writer of Colma: The Musical, an upbeat and sassy musical about a performance artist with gay roommates. Sun, Nov 8; 2:30pm @ Landmark 7
Hollywood, je t’aime (USA/France): In the wake of a painful breakup, Jerome leaves his life in Paris to pursue his dream of becoming a Hollywood star, only to learn that the grass looks greener from the other side. Sat, Nov. 7; 9:30pm @ Landmark 7
Homewrecker (USA): A suspicious houseguest has ulterior motives in this comical, gay parody of Lifetime Channel movies. Sun, Nov 8; 5pm @ Landmark 7
Just Say Love (USA): A meeting of two strangers on a park bench evolves from a casual tryst to a tender relationship in this play adaptation. Thu, Nov 12; 9:15pm @ Landmark 7
Lie (Puerto Rico): An artist’s reality blurs with his dreams as his love triangle gets more and more dangerous. Wed, Nov 11; 7pm @ Landmark 7
Mr. Right (UK): This romantic comedy focuses on the highs and lows of gay relationships in London. Mon, Nov 9; 9pm @ Landmark 7
Pornography: A Thriller (USA): In this sexy, trippy creep show, a gay porn star mysteriously disappears at the height of his fame and a young writer decides to investigate the strange events, with terrifying results. Sun, Nov 8; 9:30pm @ Landmark 7
Shank (UK): An unlikely gay romance blossoms in the violent world of British gang culture in this gritty drama. Wed, Nov 11; 9:15pm @ Landmark 7
To Faro (Germany): A closeted German boi and a young party girl begin a romance, while keeping their true identities a secret from the other. Sun, Nov 8; 7:15pm @ Landmark 6
ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction (USA): When zombies attack a small town, a gay man and Iranian girl must fight off the undead, as well as the surviving locals who blame them for the outbreak. Fri, Nov 13; 9pm @ FRC
For more information and to purchase tickets: call (773) 293-1447, www.reelingfilmfestival.org or in person at Chicago Filmmakers, 5243 N. Clark St.
