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Reel Out Charlotte
Formerly known as: GayCharlotte Film Festival
Wednesday, 15 May 2024 until Sunday, 19 May 2024
Reel Out Charlotte is the Queen City's annual LGBTQ film festival and a program of Charlotte Pride. Our film festival showcases the best in LGBTQ-themed short, documentary and feature-length films each year. Charlotte Pride is the leader in LGBTQ visibility in Charlotte and the Carolinas. Since its founding in 2000, Charlotte Pride has expanded its year-round programming and partnerships to better connect community members with its mission, vision, and values. It is now the one of the largest LGBTQ Pride organizations in the American Southeast.
Reel Out Charlotte is one of Charlotte’s premier arts and cultural events, which has brought thousands of attendees together to celebrate the artistic, cultural, and historical contributions of LGBTQ and ally individuals, all through the power of film. Each year, we work to strengthen our program by expanding the diversity and subject matter of the films we show. In addition, to enhance the overall experience for film goers, we have introduced new features to engage our community, including our new audience awards and free admission events to educational film screenings and panel discussions.
Best Short Film - Viewers' Choice
2024 Festival Screenings & Events
Browse the details of all our film screenings and special events. When you’re ready to purchase tickets, click the ticket button to be taken to FilmFreeway, our event ticketing system.
Click here to view information on film caption/subtitle availability.
FREE EVENT!
WED, MAY 15, 7:30pm
Annual LGBTQ Shorts Night
Mix-and-mingle with community members and indie film lovers. With popcorn and drinks in hand, take your seat in the screening room and your place as a judge for the annual LGBTQ Shorts Night. An eclectic mix of LGBTQ short films will grace the big screen, with audience members voting at the end of the night for Best Short. Shorts Night is one of the most popular and well-attended events of each year’s film festival. Don’t miss out — grab your free tickets today!
Our Annual LGBTQ+ Shorts Night is FREE to all attendees thanks to a generous grant by the Arts & Science Council’s Culture Blocks — a community partnership funded by Mecklenburg County.
FREE EVENT!
THURS, MAY 16, 6:30pm
20,000 Species of Bees
128 minutes
2023, Spain
Spanish, Basque, & French with English subtitles
Director: Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren
Drama
During a summer in a village house linked to beekeeping, an eight-year-old and her mother experience revelations that will change their lives forever.
This showing is FREE to all attendees thanks to a generous grant by the Arts & Science Council’s Culture Blocks — a community partnership funded by Mecklenburg County.
FRI, MAY 17, 6pm
The Judgment
111 minutes
2023, Egypt, Lebanon, & US
English
Director: Marwan Mokbel
Horror, Drama
An Egyptian gay couple return from the US to Egypt for a family emergency. When they fall prey to witchcraft as punishment for their homosexual sins, one of them falls into religious terror and exposes his unhealed past.
FREE EVENT!
FRI, MAY 17, 8:30pm
F.L.Y.
103 minutes
2023, US
English
Directors: Rafael Albarran, Trent Kendrick
Comedy
F.L.Y. is a slice-of-life comedy about two exes, Max and Rafael, who get stuck in a house together. Having not seen each other in five years and with a new boyfriend in tow, things get off to a rocky start as Max navigates the situation with Raf, who just moved to LA with the dream of becoming the next drag superstar.
This showing is FREE to all attendees thanks to a generous grant by the Arts & Science Council’s Culture Blocks — a community partnership funded by Mecklenburg County.
FREE EVENT!
SAT, MAY 18, 1:00pm
Riley
93 minutes
2023, US
English
Director: Benjamin Howard
Drama
The life of a disciplined high school athlete begins to unravel when his queer identity competes against the idea of who he was supposed to be.
This showing is FREE to all attendees thanks to a generous grant by the Arts & Science Council’s Culture Blocks — a community partnership funded by Mecklenburg County.
SAT, MAY 18, 6pm
The Egoist
111 minutes
2022, Japan
Japanese with English subtitles
Director: Daishi Matsunaga
Drama, Romance
Based on Makoto Takayama’s semi-autobiographical novel, director Daishi Matsunaga’s EGOIST is a uniquely sexy and heartfelt drama about family. Kosuke, a fashion magazine editor in his mid-30s, revels in the blessings of his comfortable lifestyle. When he hires Ryuta, a personal trainer, in order to get into shape, he gets more than he bargained for. The two fall in love, but when Kosuke discovers Ryuta secretly works as an escort to provide for himself and his mother, the two men strike a financial agreement. However, when tragedy strikes, Kosuke and Ryuta’s mother grow closer and must confront a new future together.
SAT, MAY 18, 8:30pm
Kokomo City
73 minutes
2023, US
English
Director: D. Smith
Documentary
KOKOMO CITY is a raw depiction of the lives of four black trans sex workers as they confront the dichotomy between the black community and themselves.
FREE EVENT!
SUN, MAY 19, 2:00pm
DOUBLE FEATURE: Turtles
83 minutes
2023, Belgium/Canada
French, English with English subtitles
Director: David Lambert
Comedy, Drama
Since Thom and Henri met 35 years ago, their love for each other has never faltered. The seemingly perfect life they had built in Brussels started to go awry when Henri retired from being a police officer. Now, Henri’s days seem to stretch endlessly, each one as bland as the next while his feelings for Thom are fading fast. They drift away from each other a little more each day, to the point that their house has become a battleground. Thom’s love for Henri remains strong, though, and he is not ready to give up. He will do anything to save his relationship and rekindle their love, even if that means asking Henri for a divorce.
This showing is FREE to all attendees thanks to a generous grant by the Arts & Science Council’s Culture Blocks — a community partnership funded by Mecklenburg County.
FREE EVENT!
SUN, MAY 19, 2:00pm
DOUBLE FEATURE: Old Lesbians
29 minutes
2023, US
English
Director: Meghan McDonough
Documentary
For the last quarter century, Houston native Arden Eversmeyer journeyed across the country to record hundreds of oral “herstories” with a mostly invisible population that is rapidly disappearing. Old Lesbians honors Arden’s legacy by animating the resilient, joyful voices she preserved in the Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project, from first crush to first love, from the closet to coming out, and finally from loss to connection.
This showing is FREE to all attendees thanks to a generous grant by the Arts & Science Council’s Culture Blocks — a community partnership funded by Mecklenburg County.
SUN, MAY 19, 5:15pm
Femme
73 minutes
2023, US
English
Director: D. Smith
Documentary
FEMME follows Jules, who is targeted in a horrific homophobic attack, destroying his life and career. Some time after that event, he encounters Preston, one of his attackers, in a gay sauna. He wants revenge.
FREE EVENT!
SUN, MAY 19, 7:45pm
BONUS FEATURE: Eden’s Garden Episode 1 – The Jungle Has No Face
35 minutes
2023, US
English
Director: Malachi Seven King
Drama
In this garden, snakes aren’t the only secret. Peek into the world of a group of transmen in NYC navigating the journey of learning manhood, overcoming family drama, and surviving the mean streets on their way to success.
The pilot episode to Eden’s Garden focuses on a group of men who are tied by a choice of no return in transitioning from female to male. Will CJ overcome his demons that ties him to cycles? Will Gino see the truth he is scared to admit? Will Rico achieve his true desires? Will Chaz accept what he is no longer willing to hide? The introductory episode covers the dynamics of life from the shoes of men learning what manhood is when you make the choice of transition. In the midst of this journey, they are also influenced by their life’s environment that leads each character to a different fate. Will they be brothers or foes?
STONE
When Tess learns of her estranged father’s death, she travels to the funeral hoping for nothing more than some closure and the chance to meet the woman who stole him from her. Immediately blindsided by the revelation that her father was a transgender woman, Tess starts to wonder what else has been kept from her, turning to her mother for answers. Realising that nothing is as it seems, Tess must challenge not only everything she has been told about her childhood but, most importantly, her understanding of what it meant to be a father.
Director: Jake Graf, Hannah Graf
United Kingdom, 2023
Drama
Runtime: 13:00
ONE STORY AT A TIME: CELESTE LECESNE
In the docu-short One Story at a Time, Celeste Lecesne candidly shares how he not only escaped the confines of homophobia but combatted it by finding the courage to share his truth with the world. In a seemingly fateful chain of events, an off-broadway solo-show becomes an Academy Award-winning film that ultimately inspires The Trevor Project, the largest suicide prevention lifeline for LGBTQIA+ youth. Now, 25 years later, countless lives have been saved, and Celeste stays the course, inspiring the next generation to have the bravery to claim their truth and continue to change the world, one story at a time.
Directors: Eva Tenuto, Natalia Iyudin
United States, 2024
Documentary
Runtime: 10:06
LEE BABY
Lee, a trans man, and his wife Charlie are smack dab in the middle of creating a family. Insecurities, hormone imbalances, loss of bodily autonomy, and the exhaustion of new parenthood test the limits of this resilient queer couple.
Director: Leah Raidt
United States, 2023
Drama, Comedy
Runtime: 13:45
MOM(S)
The fact that Abi has two moms shouldn’t set her apart from any other teenage kid, but when the high school father-daughter dance posters start to go up all over school Abi can’t help but feel like an outsider. The mean crowd rubs it in her face, Abi’s friends don’t seem to get it, it’s all too much. Abi decides she doesn’t want to go to the stupid dance, but Abi’s best friend Lexi knows all too well what Abi wants. Lexi urges her to take a stand and show up to the dance with both her moms. When one of Abi’s moms, Sandra, finds the father-daughter poster crumpled among Abi’s things, she confronts her about it. With Sandra’s help, Abi makes it so everyone is welcome at the dance.
Director: Matt Pittenger
United States, 2023
Drama
Runtime: 08:22
SAFETY STATE
As rights are being rolled back and travel bans are going into effect, Shay and Quincy decide to leave their home in Ohio and travel East to a safety state where it is safe and legal to be queer. They meet up with another couple, Jacob and Michael, so together they can pose as straight married couples. Quincy takes an instant dislike to her new “husband”, Jacob, as she resents depending on the men and pretending to be straight. As they face different threats on their journey, they form an unlikely friendship.
Directors: Jeanette L. Buck
United States, 2024
Comedy, Drama
Runtime: 15:37
CATBOY
Marc, after receiving several racist and feather-phobic comments from a gay dating app, receives a message from his transexual friend Cacao inviting him to a Ballroom. Marc decides to go, there he is surprised by the freedom and diversity of the environment. Upon reaching the local bar, she exchanges glances with Leo, an attractive boy. After seeing her friend walk, the two have an intimate conversation where Cacao encourages Marc to walk that night. Once the Catboy Sex Siren category arrives, Leo goes for a walk while Marc watches the situation with a mixture of desire and doubt.
Director: Cristian Sitjas
Spain, 2023
Drama
Runtime: 13:16
UNNAMED
Zainab is a successful girl who supports her family financially, but considers herself a boy in spirit, and now she has decided to undergo gender transition, but in addition to her family’s opposition and the society’s inappropriate view of this issue, she has more difficulties There is something more important to come. She, who played in the country’s national volleyball team for a while and is now in the Bartar league, if she does this, she will be removed from professional volleyball forever due to her short stature compared to men, and not only will she lose her professional future, but also her livelihood and her family who are under her care will be in trouble.
Director: Iranmehr Salimi
Islamic Republic of Iran, 2022
Documentary
Runtime: 13:00
IT’S A MATCH
When a hearing bi-curious woman matches with a Deaf lesbian named “Leatherface” on a dating app, she has high hopes for the relationship, but she must contend with the fear that lurks beneath the surface.
Director: Michelle Mary Schaefer
United States, 2024
Horror
Runtime: 13:05