Reel Q 41st season takes over the Burgh (Oct 2-10)
This October Reel Q, Pittsburgh’s longest-running film festival, will expand its cinematic celebration throughout the city with the most screening venues ever. For our 41st season Reel Q will present local and international LGBTQ films at City of Asylum- Alphabet City on the Northside, Carnegie Mellon University’s McConomy Auditorium in Oakland, Harris Theater downtown, Melwood Screening Room in North Oakland, Row House Cinema Hollywood in Dormont, Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville, and The Soft Spot café in Garfield.
The festival’s 41st season opens Oct. 2 at Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville with the award-winning gay rom-com Bookends (featuring Pittsburgh-born, Oscar-winner F. Murray Abraham’s humorous portrayal of a meddlesome grandfather), after which guests are invited downstairs to Bierport for our opening night party, before the screening of the coming-of-age film Black Burns Fast.
According to T.J. Murphy, Reel Q’s executive director, the spotlight is on our award-winning lineup of international queer stories. “We’ve selected films from the US, South Africa, Mexico, Greece, Brazil, France, Poland, and that doesn’t even include all the regions represented in our shorts programs. This may be one of our most diverse lineups in years, and it speaks to why bringing these stories and perspectives to Pittsburgh is so important.”
Feature films include In a Whisper where a young Parisian returns to Tunisia for her uncle’s funeral and uncovers family secrets (Oct. 3 at The Soft Spot Café); Bearcave, a lesbian love story in a Greek mountain village (Oct. 4, Row House Lawrenceville); and Flesh & Fuel in which a lonely French trucker meets a Polish driver and his life takes an unexpected turn (Oct. 6, Harris Theater).
Several documentaries celebrate important figures in queer history: Barbara Forever, winner of best documentary at several international film festivals, explores the life and work of pioneering lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer (Oct. 7, Melwood Screening Room); and Uncle Roy, a portrait of Roy Blakey, a figure skater who became internationally known for his influential male nude photography (Oct. 10 at CMU).
Then there’s Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders, which explores the controversy surrounding the 1980 serial killer thriller “Cruising,” which triggered fierce protests from the queer community for its take on New York’s leather scene (Oct. 4, Row House Lawrenceville). Also join Reel Q for a special double feature starting with Time Warp, the documentary of a drag theater company performing “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” in a western mining town as they fight for acceptance. Then take a jump to the left and then a step to the right at the midnight showing of the original cult classic, The Rocky Horror Show, with the Junior Chamber of Commerce Players. (Oct. 3 at Hollywood Row House).
The festival will screen several programs of short films collated by its screening committee: “Short and Sweet” (Oct. 3) at The Soft Spot Café, a “Sapphic sober space for Pittsburgh’s queer community”; “Short Circuited” stories of self-discovery (Oct. 3) at Row House Hollywood; “Messy and Beautiful Dramatic Shorts” (Oct 9) and “Teen Shorts” (Oct. 10) at CMU and “Queer Fear,” a thriller shorts program and more.
The film festival finishes Oct 10 at CMU with the retrospective screening of the “smart and sexy” The Watermelon Woman for its 30th anniversary; and First They Came for My College, a documentary showing how Florida’s Governor transformed a beloved public honors college in a growing nation-wide assault on academic freedom.
T.J. Murphy says that “the importance of queer and trans representation and visibility could not be more important for our community, along with hosting safe spaces to share our stories together.”
This year’s festival will showcase 13 full-length films and approximately 40 short films.
Please check out the website at: www.reelq.org for more information on Reel Q’s 41st season, movie listings, show times, and special events.
Full Schedule:
Oct 2 - Row House Cinema / Lawrenceville
6:30 PM | Bookends
8:30 PM | Black Burns Fast
Oct 3 - Soft Spot
12:30 PM | Short and Sweet Shorts
2:30 PM | In A Whisper
Oct 3 - Row House Cinema / Hollywood
7:30 PM | Short Circuited Shorts
9:30 PM | Timewarp
12:00 AM | Rocky Horror Picture Show with JCCP
Oct 4 - Row House Cinema / Lawrenceville
2:30 PM | Ninxs
4:30 PM | Bearcave
7:00 PM | Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders
Oct 5 - City of Asylum / Alphabet City
7:00 PM | Apolo
Oct 6 - Harris Theater
7:00 PM | Flesh and Fuel
Oct 7 - Melwood Screening Room
7:00 PM | Barabra Forever
Oct 9 - CMU / McCormick Theater
6:30 PM | Uncle Roy
8:30 PM | Messy & Beautiful: Dramatic Shorts
Oct 10 - CMU / McCormick Theater
2:00 PM | Teen Shorts
4:00 PM | The Watermelon Woman - 30th Anniversary
6:00 PM | First They Came For My College
Oct 10 - Location TBD
8:00 PM | Queer Fear: A Thriller Shorts Program
Full schedule and tickets are available now at reelq.org/2026-festival.
About Reel Q
Founded in 1985, Reel Q has spent four decades amplifying LGBTQ+ stories, providing a vital cultural outlet for Pittsburgh’s queer communities and allies. Today, Reel Q is the longest-running film festival in Pittsburgh and the sixth oldest LGBTQ+ film festival in the world. Through its annual festival and year-round programming, Reel Q continues to showcase queer artistry, foster dialogue, and celebrate visibility through film.
Reel Q is made possible through the generous support of The Pittsburgh Foundation, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, Duolingo, and our community partners.
