Friday marks the start of the Reelout film festival (January 29 – February 6), and according to festival executive director Matt Salton, we should anticipate a darker tone to this year’s flicks.
“Don’t expect multi-coloured, rainbow-tinted queer films this year. The force has awakened Reelout’s dark side,” he said in a recent press release.
Organizers have even chosen to dub the 2016 festival “Reelout in the Dark” to suggest the mood of many of the 55 films, which range in genre from documentaries, to comedies, to dramas, and in subject matter from reservation life in Northern Ontario, to class warfare in South Africa, to lesbian romances between sex workers and their clients.
Now in its 17th year, this is the first that Reelout has had a theme, but just like years prior, all films will be shown at The Screening Room. And like the Reelout Arts Project’s mandate, the festival aims to celebrate queer media arts and spark dialogue between Kingston’s LGBTQ communities and the larger Kingston community.
There will also be plenty of parties to round out the lineup (four, to be exact) at Sir John’s Public House and The Grad Club. Keep reading for all of the party details, along with a few films you won’t want to miss.
Films
It won’t be easy narrowing down the list of 55 films to be screened this year, but the executive director has a couple of pics to help out. One, Beautiful Something (Feb. 3, 9 pm), follows four men on their interlocking searches for sex, art, love and identity in Philadelphia. Another, You’re Killing Me (Feb. 5, 9 pm), is a horror-comedy that shows what happens when an internet star meets a monotone serial killer.
It’s not all dark at this year’s Reelout film festival, though. Take “Salsa Saturday” (Jan. 30), for example, a full day of Spanish language films. “We’re pretty excited about that,” said Salton. “When you’re feeling down in the dumps and you have snow squalls around you can escape to The Screening Room for the day and bask in cinematic sunshine.”
“Salsa Saturday” kicks off at 12 pm with the documentary El Hombre Nuevo, about a Nicaraguan transsexual’s return home, and ends at 9 pm with Estrellas Solitarias, a comedy-drama about drag queens in Mexico City that “mixes the bitchiness of Showgirls with the offensive camp of early John Waters.”
The closing gala selection, Portrait of a Serial Monogamist (Feb. 6, 7 pm), is also a good one to put near the top of your list. A coming-of-middle-age romantic comedy based in Toronto, it follows Elsie as she leaves her long-standing girlfriend to pursue a younger woman. Bonus: the filmmakers will be in attendance.
Parties
Anyone who’s been knows there ain’t no party like a Reelout party, and this year there are four to choose from during the week (or you could just got to all of them).
After seeing the opening film, Fire Song — a can’t miss, but already sold out — head down to Sir John’s Public House and upstairs. The lineup: drinks, food, new friends, old friends, visiting film guests. Free with Fire Song ticket stub or festival pass. (Jan. 29, 10 pm)
If you need more of Sir John’s, and a lot of diva, check back the next night for “Broadway Divas,” where four drag queens will use two shows to bring the golden days of Broadway back to life. (Jan. 30, 7 pm: $12. 10 pm: $15)
Reelout’s party climax should be “Soul Shakedown: CFRC Edition” at The Grad Club the following Friday. DJ Seditious, DJ Tomatillo and others will be there spinning everything from hip hop, to neo-soul, to Nigerian boogie. You’ll be supporting community radio, too: all proceeds go towards CFRC 101.9 FM’s funding drive. (Feb. 5. $8 before 10:30 pm, $10 after)
It’ll be hard to hold back at Soul Shakedown, but leave a little in the tank for the closing gala dance party at The Grad Club, where Toronto DJ Sigourney Beaver will be ending things with a blend of indie, hip hop, dancehall, and garage rock. $10 or free with Portrait of a Serial Monogamist ticket stub. (Feb. 6, 10 pm)
For the full Reelout festival lineup and ticket info, head to reelout.com.
