# Reeling film fest lands its first major gay film after 44 years > Netflix's Oscar contender 'La Bola Negra' marks a turning point for LGBTQ+ festivals once shut out by Hollywood studios. - Title: Reeling film fest lands its first major gay film after 44… - Summary: Netflix's Oscar contender 'La Bola Negra' marks a turning point for LGBTQ+ festivals once shut out by Hollywood studios. After decades of being denied access… - Keywords: reeling film festival, chicago, lgbtq+ film, la bola negra, netflix, brenda webb, chicago filmmakers, javier calvo, javier ambrossi, cannes film festival, music box theatre, queer cinema - Source: Chicago Sun-Times — https://chicago.suntimes.com/movies-and-tv/2026/09/16/reeling-chicago-lgtbq-international-film-festival-la-bola-negra - Published: 2026-09-16T15:18:50.192+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: reeling film festival, chicago, lgbtq+ film, la bola negra, netflix, brenda webb, chicago filmmakers, javier calvo, javier ambrossi, cannes film festival, music box theatre, queer cinema ## La Bola Negra opens Reeling The Cannes-saluted film kicks off Chicago's LGBTQ+ festival Thursday. It's the first major gay film in the event's 44-year history. ## An epic queer love story The nearly three-hour film links three gay men in stories set before, during and after Spain's Civil War. It was made by and stars gay men. > An epic queer love story, those don't come along very often. ## Decades of rejection from studios Reeling founder Brenda Webb would lobby Hollywood for months to screen gay films with no luck. Even Brokeback Mountain was a no. > When we have gotten them, they've not come easy to us. ## A sea change in attitude Booking La Bola Negra represents a shift in how mainstream distributors view LGBTQ+ festivals. Netflix sees the queer audience as key to success. > This is unprecedented in so many ways. ## Films stayed closeted by distributors Studios didn't want gay films in LGBTQ+ festivals because they feared the gay label would limit audiences. They tried to keep it secret. > It was a gay film, but it was kept closeted by distributors who were afraid it would limit the audience if they had called it a queer film. ## Netflix picks Reeling for launch The sold-out Music Box screening Thursday gives ticket holders a first look at the likely Oscar contender. It returns for a theatrical run in October. ## Netflix's widest theatrical commitment The film releases in select theaters Oct. 16 but doesn't stream until Dec. 2. That 47-day window is Netflix's widest theatrical commitment ever. ## Best director at Cannes La Bola Negra premiered at Cannes in May. Co-directors Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo were jointly named best director. ## Big movies for LGBTQ+ stories The directors wanted to prove queer stories can be big, not just niche. A war movie for straight people, a love story for the community. > We wanted it to be a big movie to assert that LGBTQ+ stories can be big, that they don't have to appeal to just a niche audience. ## Second-longest-running LGBTQ+ festival Founded in 1981, Reeling screens 36 features and 59 shorts from 22 countries. It runs Sept. 17-27 at three Chicago venues. ## Started in a storefront theater Chicago Filmmakers began at 6 W. Hubbard St. with a 90-seat theater showing experimental shorts. The festival grew from there. ## Enormous success from the start A documentary filmmaker told the Sun-Times in 1982 that the Lesbian and Gay Film Festival was an enormous success that influenced programs nationwide. > Their Lesbian and Gay Film Festival was an enormous success. It influenced film programs around the country. ## Meeting Marsha screens Tuesday This L.A. comedy follows a struggling playwright whose TV star egg donor mom upsets a lesbian wedding proposal. Sponsored by lesbian streamer Tello Films. ## The Brittney Griner Story Sunday This ESPN documentary profiles the 6-foot-9-inch basketball center detained in Russia on drug charges. She was freed in a prisoner swap. ## The Celluloid Closet closes fest The 30th anniversary screening of this landmark documentary critiques Hollywood's history of gay, lesbian and trans stereotypes. Lily Tomlin narrates. ## Vito Russo's hellish opening night Webb remembers the author lugging film clips through canceled flights and bad weather for a 1986 Music Box screening. His showmanship impressed her deeply. > I was so incredibly impressed that he had gone through this hellish day and that he had such a positive showmanship. ## The magic of queer cinema For 44 years, Reeling has believed in queer cinema not because it lets us escape, but because it helps us see each other more clearly. > Not because it lets us escape the world, but because it helps us see the world, and each other, a little more clearly. ## Key takeaway After decades of being denied access to major gay films, LGBTQ+ film festivals are finally being recognized by mainstream distributors as key to a film's success.