Pittsburgh's Pride Month Reel Q film festival goes virtual

The Reel Q film festival, presented in conjunction with Pride Month in Pittsburgh, is moving online this year.

Teaming up with other local organizations, Reel Q will offer films and virtual events from June 18 to the end of July, beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday with a screening of “Pier Kids.”

Presented in partnership with True T PGH, “Pier Kids” documents the effect of New York City’s ballroom scene on three homeless LGBTQ youth over five years.

Award-winning director Elegance Bratton “captures the Christopher Street Pier queer/trans community in a bold visual style,” according to a release. “Elevating the stories of Casper and Desean, two homeless young black men, and Krystal LaBeija, a young trans woman, Bratton celebrates the spirit of a new generation of at-risk LGBTQ youth of color living on the edge of homelessness and society.”

The free screening is limited to 100 participants. Registration is available here.

Following the documentary, Reel Q Executive Director T.J. Murphy will host a live question-and-answer session with Bratton and producer Chester Algernal, moderated by True T PGH co-founders John Easter (Dez’manian) and Duane Binion (Naheen).

All donations made for the event will go directly to True T PGH, a local organization that celebrates queer people of color through creative art, entertainment, resource sharing and social activism.

Reel Q will continue its international LGBTQ film series by screening “The Way He Looks” online at 7 p.m. June 29, in partnership with City of Asylum. That screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Daniel Ribeiro.

Reel Q was created in 1985 to organize and manage year-round cinema that serves the educational and cultural needs of its audiences and is an organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer and LGBTQ-supportive persons.

Details: reelq.org