“The Celluloid Closet is the book that changed my life,” said Rich Cummings, the founder of Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ film festival, the ReelQ.
Cummings was reading Vito Russo’s book, a history of Lesbian and Gay men in the movies, when it sparked an idea. In 1982, Cummings hosted the Pittsburgh Lesbian & Gay Film Series, a project of Pittsburgh’s GLCC (now the Pittsburgh Equality Center), a monthly event on the University of Pittsburgh campus, alternating between films about gay men and lesbians each month. One of the first films was “Before Stonewall,” a documentary detailing the history of the LGBTQ+ movement in America. Cummings said, “It is a foundational film in the community that still has relevance today.”
“It was getting increasingly difficult to host the films on the university property.” Cummings said, “I reached out to Bob Marinaccio at Pittsburgh Filmmakers and asked if we could show the films there.”
Together, Marinaccio and Cummings came up with the idea for an annual festival that could highlight the best of gay and lesbian films and shine a spotlight on Pittsburgh in the process.
In 1985, Cummings helped launch the first Pittsburgh Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. For the next ten years, he presided over the organization, which gained nonprofit status in 1986.
Now, ReelQ is the sixth oldest LGBTQ+ film festival in the world and the longest-running film festival in Pittsburgh. Reel Q spans ten days with a variety of programs, panels, parties, and community activities, screening approximately twenty feature films and over forty short films.
It was not always a smooth road, but the festival is one of five leading LGBTQ festivals in the country, just behind New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Cummings has had both positive and negative experiences running the festival.
In 1990, Dave Bevilacqua, owner and operator of the Rex Theatre, gave in to pressure from neighbors on the South Side and canceled the screening of “Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt,” an AIDS documentary, as part of the festival. The screening moved to the Fulton, which is now the Byham.
Pressure came from within and without. People picketed Arthur J. Bressan, Jr.’s film “Abuse.” The film, about an abused 14-year-old boy who meets a filmmaker shooting a documentary about child abuse and the complex relationship that develops between them.
In 1991, Cummings recalls, “We had the premiere for ‘My Own Private Idaho,’ at the Fulton Theatre [Byham], and the line stretched around the block. We had to hire off-duty police officers to protect people waiting to see the film.” The Pittsburgh premiere of Gus Van Sant’s movie was the East Coast premiere of the film.
The festival also boasts the East Coast premiere of “Paris is Burning” one day before it opened in New York City.
Cummings garnered attention from the LGBTQ community during his time with the festival. He said, “During the Bush administration, there was talk about cutting NEA [National Endowment for the Arts] funding. I went on Larry King’s radio show, Larry King Live, and I went on KDKA to talk about the NEA cuts with [the late] Fred Honsberger.”
Cummings said, “Honsberger was nice to me when we were in the studio, but once the red light went on, he called me a faggot on the air.”
In his long association with the festival, Cummings received phone calls and death threats. He said, “This was back when everyone had a landline and the phone book.”
In 1995, a collaboration between the film festival and the Andy Warhol Museum brought poet John Giorno to Pittsburgh to read selected poems. Giorno also read from his memoirs, “Great Anonymous Sex.”
Over the years, the festival championed filmmakers such as Bruce La Bruce, Kenneth Anger, Terrence Davies, Gus Van Sant, Greg Araki, and more.
Cummings, a longtime movie buff, cites “The Killing of Sister George” as a historically important movie. The movie “Distant Voices, Still Lives” had an impact on him as well. He said, “I thought ‘Moonlight’ was such an important movie, but it’s so sad. I don’t know if I could see it again.” The film buff also mentioned the1980s German film, “Taxi Zu Klo,” as one of his favorites.
Cummings is in the process of creating his own film, which he plans to produce and direct locally. His film, “Triangles,” a Queer Noir about mysterious murders around Pittsburgh.
In 2012, the festival rebranded to Reel Q.
Mitch Leib, who was president of the organization during the name change [from 2010 to 2013], reminisced about his involvement at Reel Q. Leib said, “I was on the PrideFest committee with Brenda Seever and Laura Annibalini. At the time, Brenda was the president, and Laura was the programming director. Brenda asked me if I would like to be on the film festival board. I’d always loved going to the festival and so I said yes. The three of us went to Toronto’s film festival to scout for films. After that, I was hooked.”
Leib started as guest relations coordinator and moved into the position of marketing director, then to programming director. When he took over as president, he was also filling the role of programming director, changing the role to artistic director. Leib said, “It was so fulfilling to go to Toronto and then to San Francisco to bring films back to Pittsburgh.”
Leib has a bunch of fond memories of his time at the festival. He said, “I enjoyed meeting Tab Hunter when he was here for one of his films. He was such a nice man.” He added, “We had the cast of ‘Mulligans’ here for our 25th Anniversary,” citing the 2008 gay rom-com.
Leib cites “Were the World Mine” and “The Way He Looks” as his favorite films from the festival. Leib said, “One year, we showed a short film ‘I Don’t Want to Go Back Alone,’ and then it was made into a feature, and we showed the full-length version. Both versions were wonderful.”
Jamie Tracktenberg, who was the Outreach and Social Media manager for seven years and president of the organization for one year, said, “I have always loved films, especially films that I can see myself in. Joining the Reel Q board was such a joy! I love films, but I love the people even more. I found my community with Reel Q.”
She added, “One of my favorite memories was for Reel Q 29, where we queered up famous movie posters for our program cover! It was a great way to include members of our community and have some fun!”
Tracktenberg cited Alexandra-Therese Keining’s “Kiss Me (Kyss Mig),” a 2011 Swedish film, loosely based on Keining’s own coming-out story as one of her favorites. Tracktenberg said, “I felt very connected to that film, and it was shot beautifully. It’s definitely worth a watch!”
T. J. Murphy, the current president, came out of the closet at fifteen. He said, “I used to go to the Pleasant Present on Forbes Avenue and hang out. It was the one place I could find LGBTQ movies. I used to go to the Carnegie Library. They had a collection of Queer films. I learned later that the films at the library were donated from the festival.”
Murphy said, “My first experiences were movies. I was too young to go to the bars. I’d go to the GLCC or Pittsburgh Filmmakers to see gay movies.”
Murphy has been involved in the festival, one way or another, for the last fifteen years. He joined during the 25th anniversary.
Murphy cites Camille Vidal-Naquet’s 2018 French drama, “Sauvage,” as one of his favorites from the festival. He said, “It’s a raw, visceral film with a unique perspective.” He is also a fan of Michael Barnett’s 2019 documentary “Changing the Game” about transgender high school athletes.
Murphy said, “I want everyone to know that the film festival is accessible, and it’s for anyone who enjoys cinema. It’s a safe space that showcases the work of the LGBTQ+ community from all over the world.”
Reel Q offers year-round events, including Reel Stories, a film series at the City of Asylum, 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. For more information about the film festival and their events and programs, please visit www.reelq.org.
