35th Fresno Reel Pride celebrating LGBTQ+ films

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- For the 35th year, Fresno Reel Pride returns to the Silver Screen.

The festival celebrates LGBTQ+ films in the Tower District.

"If you come out to Reel Pride, you basically can see a lot of the things that we are known for, and that is wonderful feature films that you cannot see in normal theaters," says Kathleen Arambula-Reyna.

Arambula-Reyna is the festival's board president. This year's event will feature 20 films, including shorts, features, and local artists and filmmakers.

"We bring films that represent parts of our LGBTQ+ community that are not as forward-facing," Arambula-Reyna said.

Organizers say Reel Pride is one of the largest and longest-running LGBTQ+ film festivals in the country. Its roots run deep and go back to Fresno State in the 90s.

Ken Fries co-founded the festival with Dr. Peter Robertson when the two were students on Fresno State's campus.

They saw a need to see their community on the big screen.

The co-founders say the festival was a hit from the start, but the culture toward LGBTQ+ people was much different just 30 years ago.

"Start the movie, darken the room, and people would walk in and sit down, and watch the films, but they wanted to be anonymous," Dr. Robertson said.

"As soon as the movie was over and the credits started running, they'd get up and walk out because they didn't want the lights to go up and be seen."

Times have changed, but there's still more progress to make as organizers look to the next generation to take the festival forward.

The Fresno Reel Pride film festival begins in the Tower District Thursday and runs through Sunday.

Reel Pride is one of the oldest LGBTQ+ film festivals in the country.

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