• Mink Stole (John Waters' muse and star of Pink Flamingos)
• Jane Wiedlin (from The Go-Go's)
• Jai Rodriguez (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy)
• Richard Ganoung (star of the classic Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss and Parting Glances)
• The Joans (the hanger-wielding, Joan Crawford-inspired band)

Additionally, we were honored to have filmmakers from The Big Gay Musical, Oy Vey! My Son is Gay!!, Rivers Wash Over Me, Fish Out of Water, Stuck!, Baby Jane?, Eating Out, Homewrecker, Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss, Standing-N-Truth, Just Say Love, City of Borders, American Primitive, Riot Acts, Fiona's Script, Fruit Fly, Family, Make the Yuletide Gay, Night Fliers, Pornography: A Thriller, We Are the Mods, and numerous shorts!

Presented by Showtime and Comcast, running November 5 - 15, Reeling showcased over 150 innovative gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender films from countries as diverse as the Philippines, Sweden, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Reeling continues to demonstrate the expanding breadth of gay-themed work being produced today by showcasing films representing multi-cultural perspectives and in genres ranging from musical comedy to horror to serious drama to compelling documentaries to introspective experimental, and more.

Reeling presented 59 different screenings, including 33 narrative feature films, 10 programs of documentary features and featurettes, and 16 programs of shorts, as well as 7 after-parties and a panel discussion. Festival screening venues included Landmark's Century Centre Cinema (2828 N. Clark St.), Film Row Cinema (Columbia College, 1104 S. Wabash Ave.), Music Box Theatre (3733 N. Southport Ave.), and the Festival's home base at Chicago Filmmakers (5243 N. Clark St.).

Thanks to the generosity of travel sponsor Orbitz and the hospitality of hotel sponsors Hotel Sax Chicago, Hotel Indigo, The Allerton, The Belden-Stratford, The Seneca, and House 5863, as mentioned above, the Festival hosted dozens of visiting filmmakers, producers, and actors who were available for Q&A at screenings and attended festival events.

Reeling's Opening Night kicked off on Thursday, November 5th at 7:30 pm at the Music Box Theatre (3733 N. Southport Ave.) with The Big Gay Musical, a spirited dramedy that mixes elements of musical theater with a story of acceptance, discovery, friendship, lust, and love. Co-director Casper Andreas and lead actor Daniel Robinson joined in the festivities immediately following the screening at the Opening Night Gala, which took place at the unique Architectural Artifacts (4325 N. Ravenswood). The evening featured a live performance by the Joan Crawford-inspired, hanger-wielding band The Joans.

Reeling closed on an equally high note on Sunday, November 15th at Music Box Theatre with the 7:30 pm Closing Night screening of Oy Vey! My Son is Gay!!, featuring a star-studded cast that includes, among others, Lainie Kazan (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Jai Rodriquez (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy), Vincent Pastore (The Sopranos), comedian Bruce Vilanch, and Carmen Electra. Director Evgeny Afineevsky and Jai Rodriquez appeared at the screening and after-party, which took place at Architectural Artifacts.

The Music Box Theatre was also the setting for Reeling's Documentary Centerpiece screening on Sunday, November 8th at 5:00 pm, when Reeling proudly presented the locally produced film Fish Out of Water. Director Ky Dickens tackles the challenging subject of religion and homosexuality, exploring the specific Bible verses used to condemn homosexuality through interviews with Bible scholars, members of Chicago's own LGBTQ community, and others, while adeptly managing to inject humor and levity into the subject by mixing in delightful animation. Ky Dickens and other members of the production crew were in attendance at the screening to discuss the film with the audience. Immediately afterwards was the after-party hosted and sponsored by Skybar (2242 N. Lincoln Ave.).

John G. Young's Rivers Wash Over Me was selected for Reeling's Dramatic Centerpiece film, and showed at Film Row Cinema (1104 S. Wabash Ave.) on Saturday, November 14th at 9:00 pm. A compelling drama about the ordeals of a sensitive, gay teen from NYC sent to live with family in Alabama after the death of his mother, Rivers Wash Over Me is a sobering reminder of the vulnerability of youth, especially those confronted by the dual brutalities of homophobia and racism. John G. Young and producer Dexter Davis were in attendance and joined us for the Centerpiece after-party, hosted and sponsored by the city's finest Chinese restaurant, Opera, just a few blocks from Film Row Cinema at 1301 S. Wabash Ave.

Another highlighted film in this year's festival was Stuck!, Steve Balderson's tongue-in-cheek homage to film noir women-in-prison movies that surprises by delivering much more than the genre promises. Stuck! stars the ever-fabulously strange Karen Black and John Waters' muse Mink Stole, who was our special guest at the screening, which took place on Friday, November 6th at 7:00 pm at the Landmark Theater (2828 N. Clark St.). After the screening of Stuck!, Circuit (3641 N. Halsted St.) hosted Reeling's "Lesbian Lockdown/Jail Break" prison-themed after-party, co-presented by Circuit Girl. Guests mingled with the legendary Mink Stole, Jane Wiedlin from The Go-Go's, and actress Starina Johnson!

Check out the links to the right for more information on 2009's films, events, and panel discussion.