By Andrea Thompson

Copyright chicagoreader

The Reeling LGBTQ+ International Film Festival has returned, and as one might expect, there’s quite a bit to say in a time when queer communities are being subjected to vicious attacks that seek to strip people of not only hard-fought rights, but also personhood itself. It’s hardly a surprise that a common theme in many of the 2025 festival offerings is perseverance, whether through religious or political intolerance, economic trouble, personal tragedy, or conflicts of self.

Whether your interests lean toward animation, documentary, personal drama, experimental film, or comedy, Reeling has something for everyone to enjoy.

Reeling: The 43rd Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film FestivalFri 9/19–Sun 9/28, Landmark Century Centre Cinema, 2828 N. Clark, Chicago Filmmakers, 1326 W. Hollywood, festival passes $65–$150, $55–$130 Reeling members, single tickets $15 general admission, $12 Reeling members (excludes special admissions), reelingfilmfest.org

American Schemers (2024)

Two small-time con artists decide to impersonate the heir to a wealthy estate for one last job. What could possibly go wrong? In the hands of Chicago director Jack C. Newell, about as much as you’d expect and then some. After Kara (Sydney Blackburn) and Oly (Michael Waller) head to Wisconsin, what seems like a simple get-rich-quick scheme turns hilariously complicated thanks to a community filled with backstabbers and schemers in their own right, quickly culminating in a caper with far more at stake than a case of mistaken identity. Sun 9/21 2 PM, Landmark Century Centre Cinema, Theater 4, 85 min.

Cactus Pears (2025)

Because he’s in his 30s and still unmarried, Anand (Bhushaan Manoj) is already something of an oddity when he returns to his rural hometown in Western India for the melancholy ten-day mourning ritual following his father’s death. Set in a traditional environment that demands conformity, Rohan Kanawade’s Cactus Pears is a tender study in the cinema of repression, as the lonely Anand reconnects with childhood companion Balya (Suraaj Suman), finding freedom from the stifling expectations of their community in the lush isolation of the natural world. But both men also have to reckon with whether their tentative romance will be yet another tryst, or if they can break out of their confined roles when Anand returns to Mumbai. Tue 9/23 6:30 PM, Landmark Century Centre Cinema, Theater 4, 112 min., in Marathi with English subtitles

Censurada (2025)

Continuing on a theme of religious and societal repression in beautiful rural environments, Censurada follows two very different young women in 1960s Spain: Salome (Nerea Rodríguez), a dyslexic organist, and Miranda (Sena Ortiz de Zárate), a fiery rebel who steadfastly refuses her mother’s attempts to marry her off. When the pair learn of a songwriting contest with a cash prize, both of them see a chance to escape to more open-minded shores, but the community’s vicious attempts to crush their love affair threaten to have devastating and permanent consequences. Sun 9/21 6:45 PM, Landmark Century Centre Cinema, Theater 6, 81 min., in Spanish with English subtitles

Dreamers (2025)

When home can be taken from you at any moment, what does it look like, and is it even possible? And if you manage to find home in another person, what happens if that person can be taken from you as well? Such are the questions Isio (Ronke Adékoluejo), an undocumented Nigerian migrant, must wrestle with after she is forced to flee her home country, only to be imprisoned in a UK detention center. Terrified of deportation, Isio finds unlikely guidance and warmth from the other women also living with constant uncertainty; she even begins a tender romance with her roommate, Farah (Ann Akinjirin). But as the system repeatedly fails them both, Isio begins to contemplate taking her fate into her own hands. Sat 9/20 2:45 PM, Landmark Century Centre Cinema, Theater 4, 78 min.

Drive Back Home (2024)

There’s a grim recognition of the open persecution of the queer community in the 1970s-set Canadian tragicomedy Drive Back Home, which sees New Brunswick plumber Weldon (Charlie Creed-Miles) reluctantly traveling to Toronto to bail out his estranged brother Perley (Alan Cumming) after he’s arrested for having sex with another man in a public park. Inspired by director Michael Clowater’s family history, the brothers are forced to grapple with the prejudices of the time, their disturbing family history, and the complicated love they share as they make their way back one thousand miles to the place they once both called home. Sun 9/21 6:30 PM, Landmark Century Centre Cinema, Theater 4, 100 min.

If You Should Leave Before Me (2025)

Is there ever a way to really cope with the fact that it isn’t only us who will die one day, but also those we love? Probably not, even for the solid Mark (Shane P. Allen) and mischievously chaotic Joshua (John Wilcox), blissful marrieds whose job is to guide the restless souls of the deceased into the afterlife. As various doors appear in their home—leading to handmade sets that symbolize the baggage the recently departed still cling to—Mark and Joshua must also confront the tragedy that is trapping them as surely as any of the spirits they’ve committed themselves to helping. Sat 9/20 4:30 PM, Landmark Century Centre Cinema, Theater 4, 120 min.

It’s Dorothy! (2025)

Why have Dorothy and the story of The Wizard of Oz continued to have such a hold on us, to the extent that wildly successful films continue to be made about her and her world? The documentary It’s Dorothy! tries to answer that question, enlisting the aid of various film and Oz historians, as well as the many women who have found joy and liberation in playing the title character. The result is a playful journey much like that of the winning Kansas resident, as it delves into her origins, the landmark 1939 adaptation of the story, how and why Judy Garland’s performance cemented her status as a beloved queer icon, and the various incarnations of Dorothy since. Sun 9/21 4:15 PM, Landmark Century Centre Cinema, Theater 4, 97 min., postscreening Q&A with director Jeffrey McHale and Oz historian Ryan Jay

Jimmy (2024)

For his portrait of an artist that will always fascinate, photographer and filmmaker Yashaddai Owens takes the experimental route in a black-and-white, 16 mm film perspective of James Baldwin’s early years, when he arrived in Paris for the first time at age 24. Filmed in mostly intimate spaces, Owen imagines Baldwin interacting with his environment, discovering a new sense of self and a more erotic liberation as a gay man while he begins to become the literary giant we know. Thu 9/25 8:30 PM, Landmark Century Centre Cinema, Theater 6, 67 min.

Lesbian Space Princess (2024)

When your toxic bounty hunter ex-girlfriend is kidnapped and held for ransom by Straight White Maliens, what’s a royal to do? Well, if you’re the introverted, perennially anxious Saira (Shabana Azeez), you leave the safety of gay space and go on the run with a sentient, very problematic 21st-century spaceship, picking up a runaway pop idol in the bargain. And on the way, you might just get that confidence you were missing, along with a very adult magical girl transformation. Fri 9/19 7 PM, Landmark Century Centre Cinema, Theater 7, 87 min., postshow after-party tickets available, costumes encouraged

She’s the He (2025)

Gender may be a construct, but some of the patriarchy’s ways stay strong . . . or do they? This much-needed fresh take on the gender-swap comedy made by and for queer people starts in a way that is both conventional and very 2025: Longtime high school besties Alex (Nico Carney) and Ethan (Misha Osherovich) pretend to be trans women to put rumours that they’re gay to rest—and so Alex can get closer to his crush, Sasha (Malia Pyles). Elated to have access to off-limits spaces like the girls’ locker room, things are bound to escalate, especially after Ethan realizes that what started as a joke might actually be sincere. As the truth comes out, Alex and Ethan’s friendship is tested like never before, and they must both reckon with the consequences of their actions. Thu 9/25 8:15 PM, Landmark Century Centre Cinema, Theater 4, 82 min.

The Silence of My Hands (2024)

Mexican filmmaker Manuel Acuña’s feature debut follows two deaf Mexican women who struggle to stay connected as their lives and ambitions start to diverge. Rosa Casillas is determined to become Guadalajara’s first deaf lawyer, while her partner Sai Yunuen Medina’s journey takes her to California as she begins questioning her gender identity. Told almost entirely in sign language, the two find creative ways to stay connected as they try to hold onto their goals as well as each other. Sat 9/20 4:15 PM, Landmark Century Centre Cinema, Theater 6, 80 min., in Spanish and sign languages with English subtitles