Reel Out Charlotte’s
LGBTQ Shorts Showcase:
Stay-at-home edition
May 7-11, 2020
THANK YOU!
Thanks to the nearly 550 people who registered to participated in our special online-only LGBTQ Shorts Showcase: Stay-At-Home Edition. Eleven dynamic short films were submitted as part of this year’s Reel Out Charlotte, The Queen City’s Annual LGBTQ Film Festival, a program of Charlotte Pride. Originally scheduled for May 9-17, we’ve rescheduled the film festival until later in the fall, Oct. 24-Nov. 1, 2020. We were so grateful to team up with these awesome filmmakers and you, the viewer, for this free, special online-only viewing opportunity!
STAY TUNED! We’ll announce the winner of the best short contest soon!
Special Event:
Facebook Live Q&A
Featuring “Next Level Shit” actor Ben Baur and “After That Party” actor, writer, and producer Lucas Drummond.
If you missed the livestream Q&A on Sunday, May 10, 5-6pm, you can still view it on our Facebook Live.
Click here for more information about Ben and Lucas.
Our Featured Short Films
After that Party
Depois Daquela Festa
Leo had never imagined he would see his Dad kissing another man in the middle of a party… Until it happened. Now, with the help of Carol, his best friend, he has to find the most perfect way to tell his Dad that he found out about his secret.
Director: Caio Scot
Runtime: 15:05
Brazil, 2019
Portuguese with English subtitles
Dreaming Like Louis
RĂŞver Comme Lui
It’s summer, Louis and Paul are on holiday in a bourgeois chateau in the depths of the countryside. It is hot, the house is empty, and the lovers are alone. To pass the time, they make love, play tennis, go for walks, sleep, at night and sometimes during the day. But the couple is in crisis. Louis feels rejected, while Paul is becoming increasingly distant. Louis takes refuge in his dreams, which shift between desire and repulsion, longing and destruction, hope and paranoia.
Director: Valentin Merz Tanören
Runtime: 18:53
France, 2019
French with English subtitles
More info:
Website
Exchange
Javier has become an agoraphobe following his recent HIV diagnosis. His friend and caretaker, Ashley, begs for him to reenter the outside world, but, strangely, Javier has already arranged for the outside world to come to him, via a Grindr hookup. However backwards it may seem, Javier is determined to make contact with another person in whatever small and strange way he can.
Director: Conlan Carter
Runtime: 11:18
United States, 2019
More info:
Website
Next Level Shit
Taylor (Ben Baur) prepares obsessively for the perfect third date with dreamboat Chris (Daniel K. Isaac), but his efforts backfire, sending the relationship spiraling to a whole new level of intimacy.
Director: Gary Jaffe
Runtime: 11:16
United States, 2018
Noodles & Incense
Chinese-American cook Amy Chang wants to move to L.A. with her girlfriend Megan, yet is held back by unfinished business with her late grandma.
Director: Rey Tang
Runtime: 19:29
United States, 2019
Orin & Anto
A young, non-binary visitor to London returns to their Airbnb to find an older gay man has moved in while they were out. In a small studio flat over one turbulent night, Orin and Anto confront the queer generation gap and decide to make space for each other.
Director: Michael Achtman
Runtime: 20:00
United Kingdom, 2019
Our Service, Our Stories
Featuring LGBT veterans who served between 1951 and 2017, this short documentary was made by a small group of senior veterans at the Los Angeles LGBT Center to ensure that the history of those who served is preserved and shared.
Director: Bill Anderson
Runtime: 21:00
United States, 2019
Video includes Closed Captions
Public Life
After befriending his new classmate John, Eric is forced to come to terms with both his sexuality and the tragic death of a friend. This is a coming-of-age film that examines what it is like to struggle with sexuality, depression, anxiety, and loss in high school. The characters in this story must also deal with these issues in the age of social media. A world where everyone knows what you’re doing and where nothing is ever really gone.
Director: Matthew Allen
Runtime: 16:54
United States, 2019
PULSE
Three childhood friends arrive at the hospital to visit their dear friend, Nitai, for one last time before he flies to New York, where he will undergo a heart transplant surgery. Shira, one of the friends, becomes captivated by Naama, the girl working in the hospital’s cafeteria. In order to cope with Nitai’s worsening medical condition, the friends change their focus from Nitai to Shira and decide to help her win Naama’s heart.
Director: Rachel Gawie
Runtime: 14:08
Israel, 2019
Hebrew with English subtitles
Sundown
An elderly man gets a visit from his childhood best friend, who appears to him as a teenager.
Director: Erik Gernard
Runtime: 10:35
United States, 2019
More info:
Website
Facebook Live Q&A
Sunday, May 10, 5pm
Ben Baur
Ben Baur grew up in a small town in Oregon, where he began performing at the age of seven in a community theater production of Pippin. Ben pursued acting ever since, and moved to Los Angeles after high school. There he attended a conservatory theater program and found his way onto big screens, small screens, and everything-in-between screens. Eventually Ben decided to tell stories of his own. He wrote, produced, and starred in the web series #Adulting and the award winning short film Something New. Currently residing in New York City, Ben continues to create work that he can’t wait to share with the world!
IMDB | Facebook | Instagram
Lucas Drummond
Actor, Producer, Screenwriter and Playwright, Lucas started working professionally as an actor in 2010. Since then he has been in seven musicals, five plays, two TV series, one feature and four short films. His main credits in Theater include: Tudo o que há Flora, a Brazilian original play which he wrote, starred and produced; and the Official Brazilian Productions of GYPSY – A Musical Fable (Angie), Fiddler on the Roof (Ensemble/Motel u/s) and Shrek: The Musical (Pinocchio). Film credits include the feature O Paciente, directed by Sergio Rezende, and the short After That Party, which he wrote, starred and produced and for which he received the Award for Best Actor at the Festival de Cinema de Campina Grande, in Brazil. His most recent work was the original series He, She, They for HBO Latin America, in which he plays Rael.
IMDB | Facebook | Instagram
Spring Spotlight: May 18-23
Don’t miss our special Spring Spotlight: A Week of Local Queer Art & Entertainment! Supporting local LGBTQ artists and entertainers during COVID-19! Each evening, we’ll feature a variety of local artists from different genres each night, with the ability for you to directly send them donations and tips.Â
Thank you to our sponsors
Charlotte Pride would like to thank several of our longtime and continuing sponsors who have stepped up to continue their support of our ongoing, year-round programs and events, despite the cancellation of the 2020 Charlotte Pride Festival & Parade.
