About Reelout- Kingston's annual queer film + video festival

reelout queer film + video festival is Kingston's only independent queer film and video festival. Since 1999 the reelout queer film + video festival has been operating as an important arts and community building festival in the Kingston region. Every year since its inception, reelout queer film + video festival has screened films and videos at various locations, from Queen's University to the Kingston Frontenac Public Library, from city parks to local repertory theatres. Each year, reelout queer film + video festival provides a range of high-quality Canadian and international work and hosts acclaimed filmmakers from across the country.

 

How the Digital Youth Workshop was born

The idea to develop a filmmaking workshop for local youth focusing on issues of importance to the queer community came from a realization that there were not a lot of queer films being made locally. Reelout prepared an application for funding to the Community Foundation of Greater Kingston to create an opportunity for local youth to engage in queer issues, specifically around the topics of homophobia and bullying while at the same time learning how to make films to express their ideas. The themes of homophobia and bullying seemed appropriate to address through this project aimed at youth as these forms of intolerance are extremely prevalent in today's school environments affecting the lives of gay and lesbian students leading to higher rates of depression, violence and suicide for queer students. Reelout committed to programming the films that came out of the workshop as part of our 7th annual festival in late January-early February 2006. Our application for funding to the Community Foundation was successful and we hired local emerging video artist James Greatrex to coordinate the undertaking. He made contact with Colleen and Citizenshift and brought them on board to help run the workshop. James pounded the pavement and got a half dozen participants who were very excited for the opportunity this workshop would provide them. After 5 gruelling days, of hands-on production experience and many weeks editing, composing music and finishing the projects, we had a successful screening of the finished works and other youth-oriented queer movies at Kingston's Modern Fuel Artists Run Centre as part of our festival's opening week-end festivities. Through the partnership with Citizenshift, we are pleased that these videos and our community's workshop experience are being made available on the Citizenshift website.

 

Lenny Epstein - Festival Director - Biography

Lenny Epstein has lots of great ideas. As an actor, Lenny starred in postcards', a student short that won 3 major awards at TVO's Telefest. As a writer/director, his first short film 'Hitler's Testicle'; received honourable mention at the Montreal Jewish student film festival for best comedy. While completing his degree at Queen's university in stage and screen studies, he spent two years as head writer and then executive producer of 'Studio Q', the university's weekly half-hour television show. As director's assistant Lenny worked with Mina Shum on 'Long Life, Happiness, and Prosperity', her feature produced by Massey Productions and Shaftesbury films which screened at Sundance and at the Toronto and Vancouver International Film Festivals. Lenny went on to work as a casting associate with Audrey Skalbania casting four feature films in six months for companies like the BBC and Alliance Atlantis. As a filmmaker, Lenny wrote and directed 'The Great Upstanding Member' a 35mm short film for Corus Entertainment which screened as an official selection at the 2004 Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children. Lenny grew up in Vancouver but has moved to Kingston, Ontario where he shot "It's a Boy!" a comedy short for CBC's ZeD which is finding success on the Jewish film festival circuit. Currently, Lenny is in various stages of development and production of 3 feature films. Lenny has recently completed a music video for Halifax-based musician Jill Barber and serves as the festival director of reelout- Kingston's annual queer film + video festival.