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August Events...

  • aGLIFF: Prism Film Festival
  • Antwerp Queer Arts Festival
  • Atlanta Black Gay Pride Film Festival
  • Beyond the Blue Sky LGBTQI+ Film Festival
  • Birmingham SHOUT Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
  • Cinekink NYC
  • CinemaQ Film Festival
  • East Village Queer Film Festival
  • Edinburgh International Film Festival
  • F.A.Q. - Feminist and Queer International Film Festival
  • Fantasia Festival
  • Festival de Cine LesBiGayTrans de Asuncion
  • FilmOut San Diego
  • Flame Con
  • Gaze LGBT Film Festival
  • Gilbert Baker Film Festival
  • International Women's Film Festival in Seoul
  • Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival
  • MICGenero
  • OUTSOUTH Queer Film Festival
  • PRISMA - Queer Film Festival Cork
  • Queer Film Festival Utrecht
  • Queer Lion
  • Queer Screams
  • Queer Screen Film Fest
  • Reel Desires
  • Reel Queer
  • Rhode Island International Film Festival
  • SF Queer Film Festival
  • Sidewalk Film Festival
  • Stamped: Pensacola LGBT Film Festival
  • Taos Pride Film Festival
  • Venice Film Festival
Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival

Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival

The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival

Thursday, 18 September 2025 until Sunday, 05 October 2025

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.