The Reelout collective in 2003.
The “reelout queer film + video festival” was originally established as a working group OPIRG Kingston in 1999 at 51 Bader Lane (The Grey House) on Queen’s University Campus.
Reelout’s founder, Marney McDiarmid, held test market screenings in the backroom of the city’s only gay bar, 477, to see if Kingston could sustain its own weekend-long queer film festival. As a result, McDiarmid rallied together both professionals in academia and enthusiastic film buffs and activists together to create what was known as the “reelout collective”. The group was formed around the consensus decision-making process ensuring that every member of the group had the opportunity to have a voice. The original Reelout collective consisted of Chris Boodram, Jean Bruce, Shannon Collins, Susan Lord, Steven Maynard, Marney McDiarmid, Blake St. John, Ayse Turak, Matt Salton, Emily VanderMeulen, Carolyn Johanson, Jim Verburg, Karen Parsons, Matt Allen, Theresa James, Anna Cordner and Anne Delorme. The organizers felt they were successfully on their way to bigger and better things which included incorporating as a non-profit organization called the Reelout Arts Project Inc. in 2004. This newly formed corporation could now lay the groundwork for future sustainability and growth by forming a board of directors and hiring paid employees to direct the administrative and artistic aspects of the festival.
Almost all of our screenings take place in beautiful downtown Kingston at the independently-owned, arthouse cinema, The Screening Room.
We are internationally recognized by filmmakers and film festivals as a respected festival that treats our visiting artists with care and warmth. We have collaborated with other film festivals to share works as far away as Ankara, Turkey (Pink Life Film Festival) and the Kashish Mumbai Film Festival. We have been accredited to represent Kingston at the Festival de Cannes and have presented works at every queer film festival across Canada over the years. ReelOut has been recognized with the Queen’s Human Rights Initiatives Award (2004) and by the Ontario Arts Council in 2023 in the form of a special $20,000 grant due to our significant contribution to diversity, equity and inclusion in Ontario. In addition to our annual, 10-day film festival, we also offer opportunities throughout the year. For the past 17 years, we have offered the “Reelout in Schools” educational program wherein we present a short film and lead a discussion afterwards pertaining to the subject of gender/sexuality and bullying for the Limestone District School Board. We have since started to produce theatrical plays, and screening series as solo projects or collaborations with other arts/service organizations.
Our REEL (ReelOut’s Entertainment + Educational Library) has 3500+ movies and book for loan to the community at our office at Trellis HIV + Community Care at 844a Princess St.
ReelOut is a proud member of the Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA), the Media Arts Network of Ontario (MANO), the National Indigenous Media Arts Coaltion (NIMAC), the Kingston Arts Council, The Enchante Network and Volunteer Canada.