
Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival
The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival
From award-winning international feature films to social documentaries to experimental shorts, Reeling has always presented a range of genres that demonstrate the rich diversity of work being produced. Not only has Reeling become one of the most important cultural events for Chicagoans, it also attracts audiences from throughout the Midwest who consider the festival to be the highlight of their cinematic year.
The first Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival took place in April 1981 in Chicago Filmmakers’ 90-seat folding-chair screening room on West Hubbard Street. The festival sold out nearly every screening, leaving audiences demanding more. The enthusiasm for the festival led to a commitment on the part of Chicago Filmmakers to continue the festival as an annual event, and it has been going strong ever since.
The mission of Reeling is to recognize the important artistic contributions that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender filmmakers have made to our culture; to educate the general population and sensitize them to lesbian, gay and transgender issues; to investigate the history of LGBTQ+ film, including the stereotyping that has been a major part of this history; and to counteract this stereotyping with valid, meaningful and diverse LGBTQ+ stories.
The festival provides a unique opportunity for the celebration of these identities for a community too often misrepresented or ignored in mainstream film and television.
Entries are eligible for audience awards in the categories of Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, Best Episodic Series, Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short, and Best Experimental or Animated Film; and juried awards in the categories of Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, Best Episodic Series, Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short, and Best Experimental or Animated Film. Additional cash prizes may be awarded on behalf of Reeling sponsors.
2025 films...
85 minutes | United States | 2024
8 minutes | United States | 2024
17 minutes | United States | 2025
3 minutes | United States | 1988
8 minutes | United States | 2025
23 minutes | Brazil, Cuba | 2024
75 minutes | United States, Italy | 2024
Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day
137 minutes | Croatia, Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Cyprus | 2024
A Bird Hit My Window and Now I'm a Lesbian
8 minutes | United States | 2024
12 minutes | United Kingdom | 2024
13 minutes | United States | 2024
9 minutes | United States | 2025
115 minutes | Korea, Republic of | 2024
20 minutes | United Kingdom | 2025
112 minutes | India, United Kingdom, Canada | 2025
35 minutes | United States | 1982
10 minutes | United States | 1971
5 minutes | United States | 2025
2024 minutes | United States | 8
13 minutes | United States | 2024
17 minutes | United States | 2025
5 minutes | United States | 2025
“My dead name is trying to kill me.”
82 minutes | United Kingdom | 2025
8 minutes | Switzerland, United Kingdom | 2024
Sam's search for identity gets interrupted by a mysterious neighbourhood fox.
78 minutes | United Kingdom | 2025
128 minutes | United States, Taiwan, United Kingdom | 2024
81 minutes | United States, Argentina | 2025
13 minutes | United States | 2024
15 minutes | United States | 2025
A depressed magician is blessed by God with the power to perform impossible tricks.
9 minutes | United States | 2024
16 minutes | United States | 2024
After awaking in a mountainous landscape, Ayla goes on a journey of self discovery.
18 minutes | Puerto Rico | 2025
16 minutes | United States | 2025
120 minutes | United States | 2025
15 minutes | United States | 2024
100 minutes | United States | 2025
67 minutes | United States, Turkey, France | 2024
13 minutes | United States | 2024
18 minutes | United States | 2024
An alien invasion threatens Earth’s existence when it interrupts a drag queen’s story hour.
João and Vitor used to be paramours; after 30 years, they reunite and look to a possible future.
10 minutes | United States | 2025
On the cusp of adulthood, Lucia finds her childhood friend Nicole living on the street.
27 minutes | United States | 2024
A dancer struggles to break free from the hold of his choreographer, now attracted to another.
Naza recreates her crush and obsession in a new app called "My Personal U.”
97 minutes | United Kingdom | 2025
4 minutes | United States | 2025
Damian’s nipple fell off and the rest is history...
13 minutes | United States | 2024
5 minutes | United States | 2024
A look at representation of trans folks through American talk shows.
100 minutes | United States | 2025
13 minutes | United States | 2025
101 minutes | Argentina | 2025
65 minutes | United States | 1971
95 minutes | United States, United Kingdom | 2025
115 minutes | Nepal, United States, Norway | 2024
87 minutes | Netherlands | 2024
7 minutes | United States | 2025
In the space between reality and dreams, two souls connect.
87 minutes | Hong Kong, United States | 2025
113 minutes | Colombia, United States, Spain | 2025
88 minutes | Croatia, Slovenia, Lithuania | 2025
8 minutes | United States | 2025
15 minutes | United States | 2024
82 minutes | United States | 2025
16 minutes | United States | 2025
88 minutes | United States | 2024
Some Nights I Feel Like Walking
103 minutes | Philippines, Italy, Singapore | 2024
11 minutes | United States | 1977
12 minutes | United States | 2025
Can two fake surgeons mend a real broken heart?
5 minutes | United States | 2025
Velvet Vision: The Story of James Bidgood and the Making of Pink Narcissus
97 minutes | United States | 2025
25 minutes | United Kingdom | 2025
The story of TRUK United, a grassroots, proudly trans football club.