Wrapping Up Reeling 2026

The 44th annual edition of Chicago’s Reeling International LGBTQ+ Film Festival is now in the books, having featured an array of narrative, documentary and short films. The festival’s lineup was a big improvement over 2025, bringing in a slate of better programing compared to last year. In all, I managed to catch 13 films during the festival’s 12-day run, nine of which I rated good to excellent. So, with that said, here’s my take on what I watched and what I thought. Enjoy!

‘The End of Oak Street’ celebrates second chances

Movies about second chances are fairly common fare in the world of cinema. They provide opportunities to explore the value of themes like redemption and forgiveness. And these notions are usually examined within the context of interpersonal dramas or gentle comedies. So it’s truly unusual to find them as thematic underpinnings in as unlikely a context as science fiction. Nevertheless, such is the case in the new Spielbergian summertime blockbuster, “The End of Oak Street.”

‘Disclosure Day’ delivers revelations on multiple levels

“Disclosure” can be an awfully loaded word, one that carries connotations on multiple levels, both big and small, but nearly always with personally meaningful ramifications. However, sometimes those implications may be so subtle that they’re not easy to spot, grasp or understand, even though that does not diminish their importance. It’s also interesting to note how they’re frequently revealed simultaneously, heightening their impact, especially if they’re considered in tandem with one another, a circumstance that may be hard to ignore. Such are the dynamics at work in the latest offering from iconic filmmaker Steven Spielberg, “Disclosure Day,” handily the director’s best picture in years.

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