Reel Q Pittsburgh LGBTQ Film Festival

Reel Q proudly opens its 40th Anniversary with a celebratory program of regional short films spanning the decades. This special night honors Pittsburgh’s vibrant filmmaking community with a panel of local queer filmmakers, while paying tribute to our festival founder, Rich Cummings, whose original vision continues to inspire the city’s LGBTQ+ cultural landscape. Friday, October […]

Reel Q proudly opens its 40th Anniversary with a celebratory program of regional short films spanning the decades. This special night honors Pittsburgh’s vibrant filmmaking community with a panel of local queer filmmakers, while paying tribute to our festival founder, Rich Cummings, whose original vision continues to inspire the city’s LGBTQ+ cultural landscape. Year: 2025 […]

HaMapah/The Map: A genealogical dance-survey is a multimedia, genealogical journey that traces the intersections of Adam W. McKinney's African American, Native American, and Jewish heritages. The film weaves contemporary dance with archival material, personal interviews, and music ranging from Eartha Kitt and Felix Mendelssohn to John Jackson and Yiddish songs, and explores identity, heritage, ancestry, and […]

On stage, wearing a vinyl corset and stiletto boots, s/he's Venus, lead singer of the glam rock band All The Pretty Horses. At home in Minneapolis with Lynette, her wife of twenty years, s/he's Steve. Born male, Venus is transgender. S/he's "in between" — taking female hormones, but not planning to have sexual reassignment surgery. […]

After an abrupt layoff, Z embarks on a trip across the Midwestern United States in search of a friend who has seemingly disappeared off the grid. Traveling with her two closest friends, these three queer black femmes find their priorities tested as shapeshifting threats in each city expose (inter)personal and ideological fractures. Year: 2024 Runtime: […]

Amid the surge in anti-trans legislation that Chase Strangio battles in the courtroom, he must also fight against media bias, exposing how the narratives in the press influence public perception and the fight for transgender rights. Year: 2025 Runtime: 89 minutes Language: English Country: United States Director: Sam Feder Sunday, October 5th — 3:00-5:00pm Row […]

Stories of identity, courage, and joy, told through powerful short films by and about trans lives. Sunday, October 5th — 5:00-7:00pm Row House Cinema — 4115 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201 General admission — Access to this program is available on a sliding scale. Please pay what you can.

United in Anger: A History of ACT UP is an inspiring documentary about the birth and life of the AIDS activist movement from the perspective of the people in the trenches fighting the epidemic. Utilizing oral histories of members of ACT UP, as well as rare archival footage, the film depicts the efforts of ACT […]

Join us at City of Asylum’s Alphabet City for a special evening of LGBTQ short films from around the world. This handpicked program, curated exclusively by Reel Q, brings together bold, diverse voices in a unique, one-time-only screening you won’t find anywhere else. Enjoy drinks and light refreshments before the screening, and stick around afterward […]

A space princess is thrust out of her sheltered life and into a galactic quest to save her bounty hunter ex-girlfriend from the Straight White Maliens. Year: 2025 Runtime: 87 minutes Language: English Director: Leela Varghese, Emma Hough Hobbs Friday, October 10th — 6:00-8:30pm Carnegie Mellon University – McConomy Auditorium — 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, […]

Three families with transgender children face an impossible choice in states banning gender-affirming care: stay home and risk their children's well-being or uproot entirely. Year: 2025 Runtime: 93 minutes Language: English Country: United States Director: Gianna Toboni Friday, October 10th — 8:00-10:00pm Carnegie Mellon University – McConomy Auditorium — 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213 […]

Sabbath Queen is a remarkable 20 year journey in the life of Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, a 39th generation Orthodox rabbi, and drag queen. This is special screening in partnership with JFilm Pittsburgh Year: 2024 Runtime: 105 minutes Language: Hebrew, English, Yiddish Country: United States Director: Sandi Simcha Dubowski Saturday, October 11th — 1:00-3:00pm Carnegie Mellon […]

A moving collection of short films that explore the lives of LGBTQ teens as they navigate identity, first love, family, and friendship. Saturday, October 11th — 3:00-5:00pm Carnegie Mellon University – McConomy Auditorium — 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213 General admission — Access to this program is available on a sliding scale. Please pay […]

The Wendi Miller Legacy Project rediscovered this landmark film that showcases the first Transgender Lobby Day in D.C. exactly 30 years ago in October of 1995. Nearly 100 transgender activists walked the halls of Congress to demand their civil rights be protected by law. The largest regional contingent came from Western PA and included Elise […]

The Wendi Miller Legacy Project rediscovered this landmark film that showcases the first Transgender Lobby Day in D.C. exactly 30 years ago in October of 1995. Nearly 100 transgender activists walked the halls of Congress to demand their civil rights be protected by law. The largest regional contingent came from Western PA and included Elise […]