From West Virginia’s Queer Appalachian Film Festival and Paducah’s all-lesbian festival to OutfestNEXT in Los Angeles, queer stories are thriving on the silver screen nationwide and capturing the attention of audiences with raw LGBTQ+ culture. In the Ohio River Valley region, two gay men have built OutReels Cincinnati into one of the Midwest’s most notable queer showcases.

OutReels Cincinnati, taking place November 7-9, and hosted at the Warsaw Federal Incline Theater, was founded by Northern Kentucky directors David Wolff and Chuck Beatty. Beatty said that in 2011, he helped produce a film that screened at the Louisville Film Festival and became inspired by the event’s sense of community created through film and he sought out to create his own festival for Cincinnati in 2012. The event grew out of a passion for independent film and a desire to create a platform for emerging filmmakers to showcase their work.

“We say our mission is to entertain, educate and enlighten the community through the screening of LGBTQ+-themed films, and [the audience’s] discussion of them,” Wolff said.

The tagline for the festival is “sharing the stories of our community.” Wolff says that many LGBTQ+ people — specifically youth, don’t see themselves on screen as much as cisgender heterosexual people do. Most of the films center around topics like wanting to be accepted, finding love or overcoming challenges. He added that the political climate in the United States is hurting LGBTQ+ so visibility is of the utmost importance to the festival.

“We know representation matters,” he says. “When people are trying to erase us and erase our stories and erase our history…it’s more important than ever to share our stories. And the way most change happens is if it’s personal. So if you can live authentically, safely and share your story. That’s how things change.”

Beatty knows firsthand the power of sharing an intimate story. In 2011, he made a film about domestic violence in a gay relationship drawn from his own experience. He said telling his story through art was important and that he hopes it encourages others to share theirs on screen.

“It’s so helpful [to have a] festival for folks to actually be at and have conversations with each other about things that they see on the screen or things that they relate with…and know that there are other people dealing with the same things out there,” he said. “Maybe it gives them the freedom to tell their own story.”

This year’s festival will screen five full-length films, including one documentary and four feature films, plus 20 short films. 

The Saturday centerpiece, “Drive Back Home,” stars Alan Cumming in a road story set in the 1970s. One of the organizer’s favorites, “First Contact,” is an animated short from the United Kingdom told entirely with music and visuals. Closing night features “Throuple,” a comedy-drama with Louisville-born actor Tommy Heleringer. The slate also includes the trans comedy “She’s the He,” which has sold out screenings in other cities. Two of the short-film directors are from the Cincinnati area, and both are younger than 25.

Wolff and Beatty say that after talking to many young filmmakers in the region, they have found that many are discouraged and struggling to find the motivation to shoot film or write, which they attribute to the current political climate. To help inspire young filmmakers, the two have created a queer young filmmakers meetup for the Sunday morning of the festival.

“It is a time for them to be together, talk, collaborate, and hopefully make some connections,” Wolff said.

If stories around visibility serve as the heart of OutReels, then community centered programming serves as the arteries that pump the festival to life.

“It’s always been important for us to have a space where folks can talk after the film,” Wolff said, noting regular post-screening talkbacks with filmmakers and lobby gatherings that let audiences “unpack” what they have seen.

Programming often extends beyond the screen. In recent years, the festival has paired films with singalong karaoke, a drag brunch, a filmmakers brunch and community potlucks inspired by documentary subjects. 

Wolff and Beatty said they have resisted shifting to virtual formats because the festival is small enough to bring people together in person. Attendance reached a high the weekend after the 2024 presidential election and typical turnout is several hundred over the weekend. .

Looking ahead, Wolff and Beatty hope to bring more young filmmakers into the festival and eventually hand leadership to a new generation to carry on OutReels’ legacy.

“[We want them] to get involved and make sure this keeps going,” Beatty said. “We love doing it, but the future depends on new voices stepping up.”

For more information and tickets visit https://outreelscincinnati.org/