Three LGBTQ+ Releases from Reeling Film Festival 2026

LGBTQ+ cinema has made tremendous strides in recent years. As groundbreaking as they once were, however, the tried-and-true narratives that dominated the genre in its early years grew somewhat stale and clichéd over time, forcing filmmakers specializing in these pictures to become more creative and more daring in their works, even when dealing with stories similar in nature to their predecessors.

The results have begun showing up in greater numbers at indie arthouses and film festivals, such as the Reeling Chicago International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, the second oldest continuously running event of its kind, now in its 44th edition. And, if the early screenings in this year's event are any indication, the programmers have done an outstanding job in choosing this year’s selections, many of which eloquently deal with the subject of same-sex relationships. Three films in particular have been genuine stand-outs in this regard: Canada’s “Montreal, My Beautiful,” the USA’s “Before I Do,” and South Africa’s “Black Burns Fast,” all of which are reviewed in the latest edition of The Cinema Scribe.