Starrbooty ( starring RuPaul, top ) , Kevin's Room: Together ( with Byron Stewart, middle ) and Gendercator ( featuring Amanda Coppes and Emily Wood, bottom ) are just three of the dozens of films that will be shown as part of the Reeling International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, the second-oldest event of its kind in that country. Photo #2, from Shelter. Line-ups, profiles, interviews and reviews at links below._________
Reeling 2007, Chicago's International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, is back for its 26th year. On Nov. 8-18, the event will present nearly 70 programs.
From award-winning international feature films to social documentaries to experimental shorts, Reeling has always presented a range of genres ( from comedies to documentaries ) that demonstrate the diversity of work being produced. Not only has Reeling become one of the most important cultural events for Chicagoans, but it also attracts LGBT people from around the world who consider the festival to be the highlight of their cinematic year.
Among the event highlights:
— Actor Brad Rowe ( star of Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss ) will attend the Nov. 8 Opening Night Gala at the Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark, for the Midwest premiere of Shelter. The gala event begins at 6 p.m., with the screening at 8 p.m. and a Q&A with Rowe following;
— Bruce Vilanch will be in town for Naked Boys Singing at Landmark's Century Centre Cinema, 2828 N. Clark, at 9 p.m. on Nov. 13;
—RuPaul with Starrbooty, screening at The Lake Shore Theater, 3175 N. Broadway, at 8 p.m. on Nov. 14;
—Guinevere Turner will attend screenings of her two programs, Don't Go ( 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 15 at Columbia College's Film Row Cinema ) and Itty Bitty Titty Committee ( 7 p.m. on Nov. 16 at Film Row Cinema ) ; and
—The festival's gala closing night will again begin with a 6 p.m. reception at the Chicago History Museum followed by the 7:30 p.m. screening of The Curiosity of Chance.
Other highlights:
—The Gendercator ( screens Nov. 14 at Center on Halsted; see feature on page 20 ) is a short gender-bending tale that uses Rip Van Winkle as its inspiration. A panel discussion follows this and its companion short, One in 2000.
—Outing Riley ( screens Nov. 15 at Film Row Cinema; see review on page 14 ) is the Chicago-made sophomore effort from Project Greenlight's first winner, writer-director Pete Jones. He also stars in this comedy about an architect from a typical Irish Catholic family who finally gets up the courage to come out to his family.
One movie with local ties that will be shown is the HIV/AIDS-themed Kevin's Room: Together, which will have its world premiere Nov. 12 at 8:30 p.m. at Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted. ( The movie will also make its broadcast premiere Dec. 2 on WCIU in recognition of World AIDS Day. ) Kevin's Room: Together—which focuses on a weekend group retreat and is presented in a reality-drama format—completes the acclaimed three-film series that has established lines of communication between healthcare providers, social service groups and the communities they serve.
The schedule is as follows:
—Nov. 8: Shelter ( 8 p.m., Chicago History Museum )
—Nov. 9: Blueprint ( 7 p.m., Film Row Cinema ) ; Butch Jamie ( 7 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema ) ; Underneath ( 9 p.m., Film Row Cinema ) ; The Shadows ( 9:30 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema )
—Nov. 10: Secret Society of Girls ( 12 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema ) ; Dangerous Hearts ( 12 p.m., Film Row Cinema ) ; Nordic Boys in Love ( 1:45 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema ) ; Finn's Girl ( 2 p.m., Film Row Cinema ) ; Funnyboner ( 3:30 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema ) ; The Two Cubas and Voodoo Woman ( 4 p.m., Film Row Cinema ) ; Back Soon ( 5:30 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema ) ; Lez Be Friends ( 6:30 p.m., Film Row Cinema ) ; A Four Letter Word ( 7:30 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema ) ; The Two Sides of the Bed ( 8:30 p.m., Film Row Cinema ) ; and The Houseboy ( 9:45 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema )
—Nov. 11: My Super 8 Season ( 12 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema ) ; Vivere ( 1:30 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema ) ; Lesbian Documentary Shorts ( 3 p.m., Chicago Filmmakers ) , The Man of My Life ( 3:30 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema ) ; No Homos in Iran? ( 5:15 p.m, Chicago Filmmakers ) ; Girls of the Midnight Sun ( 6 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema ) ; V.O. ( 7 p.m., The Leather Archives & Museum ) ; Holding Trevor ( 7:30 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema ) ; Young, Gay, Trippin' ( 9 p.m., The Leather Archives & Museum ) ; Socket ( 9:45 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema )
—Nov. 12: The Way We Write ( 6:30 p.m., Film Row Cinema ) ; Jerusalem Is Proud to Present ( 6:30 p.m., Center on Halsted ) ; Funny Lingus ( 7 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema ) ; Kevin's Room: Together ( 8:30 p.m., Center on Halsted ) ; The Godfather of Disco ( 8:30 p.m.; Film Row Cinema ) ; One to Another ( 9 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema )
—Nov. 13: International Lesbian Shorts ( 6:30 p.m., Film Row Cinema ) ; On the Down Low ( 6:30 p.m., Center on Halsted ) ; Scared and Scarred ( 7 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema ) ; OUTstanding Lesbian and Gay Shorts ( 8 p.m., Center on Halsted ) ; While You Are Here ( 8:30 p.m., Film Row Cinema ) ; Naked Boys Singing! ( 9 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema )
—Nov. 14: The Gendercator ( 6 p.m., Center on Halsted ) ; Lost in Love ( 6:30 p.m., Film Row Cinema ) ; Spider Lillies ( 7 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema ) ; Starrbooty ( 8 p.m., Lakeshore Theater ) ; Gender Redesigner ( 8:30 p.m., Center on Halsted ) ; International Male Shorts ( 9 p.m., Film Row Cinema ) ; No Regret ( 9 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema )
—Nov. 15: Outing Riley ( 6:30 p.m., Film Row Cinema ) ; Bears ( 6:30 p.m., The Leather Archives & Museum ) ; The Picture of Dorian Gray ( 7 p.m., Landmark's Century Centre Cinema ) ; The Erotic Films of Peter De Rome ( 8:30 p.m., The Leather Archives & Museum ) ; Don't Go ( 8:30 p.m., Film Row Cinema )
—Nov. 16: Itty Bitty Titty Committee ( 7 p.m., Film Row Cinema ) ; Quearborn & Perversion ( 8 p.m., Chicago History Museum ) ; The DL Chronicles ( 9 p.m., Film Row Cinema ) ; Global Male Shorts ( 10 p.m., Chicago Filmmakers )
—Nov. 17: Queer Streets ( 1 p.m., Chicago Filmmakers ) ; God Only Knows: Same Sex Marriage ( 3 p.m., Chicago Filmmakers ) ; Trained in the Ways of Men ( 5 p.m., Chicago Filmmakers ) ; Red Without Blue ( 7 p.m., Chicago Filmmakers ) ; Nina's Heavenly Delights ( 7 p.m., Film Row Cinema ) ; 2 Minutes Later ( 9 p.m., Film Row Cinema ) ; Asian Persuasion ( 9 p.m., Chicago Filmmakers )
—Nov. 18: L'Amour Francois ( 1:30 p.m., Film Row Cinema ) ; Between the Lines ( 1:30 p.m., Chicago Filmmakers ) ; Straight But Seductive ( 3:30 p.m., Film Row Cinema ) ; Girls Down Under ( 3:30 p.m., Chicago Filmmakers ) , The Curiosity of Chance ( 7:30 p.m., Chicago History Museum )
Screenings for the festival will be held at the Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark; Landmark's Century Centre Cinema, 2828 N. Clark; Film Row Cinema, 1104 S. Wabash, Third Floor; Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted; Lakeshore Theater, 3175 N. Broadway; Leather Archives & Museum, 6418 N. Greenview; and at Chicago Filmmakers, 5243 N. Clark. For complete festival information, tickets and times, call 773-293-1447 or see www.reelingfilmfestival.org .
-from a press release
