The 41st Annual Reel Pride International Film Festival takes place September 16–20, 2026, in the heart of Winnipeg. Screenings will be presented at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights on the afternoons of Saturday, September 19 and Sunday, September 20. All other screenings take place at the Gas Station Arts Centre in Osborne Village.
Saturday Screening
The first of this year’s Reel Pride screening at the Museum, taking place from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, September 19, is the Reel Pride Canadian Short Films Celebration and Competition!
Out of 75 submissions, 15 short films were officially selected to be part of this screening and competition. Details regarding the shorts selected and their filmmakers can be found here: SHORTS — Reel Pride.
(A CMHR shoutout to filmmakers Lorri Millan and Shawna Dempsey whose short, The Fruit Machine: A Space Opera, is included in this competition. The film is also one the original artworks in the exhibition Love in a Dangerous Time: Canada’s LGBT Purge, showing in the Museum’s Level 1 Gallery until year‐end.)
Included with the competition will be a discussion panel on the subject of the issues and challenges facing emerging filmmakers, hosted by Film Training Manitoba.
Filmmakers compete for the following awards:
- Jury Choice for Best Short
- Audience Choice for Best Short
- Jury Choice Best Manitoba Short
- Jury Choice Top Emerging Filmmaker (with less than three years filmmaking experience)
- Jury Choice Best LGBTQ Community Reflection Short
Sunday Screening
The Sunday afternoon screening, taking place at 2 p.m. on September 20, is the Canadian premiere screening of The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo, a striking new film from Chile that blends queer western grit with the wonder of a fable.
Eleven‐year‐old Lidia lives with her beloved queer family in a trans brothel perched atop a desolate mining town in northern Chile. Each miner has his favourite “lady of the night” — until an unknown, deadly disease begins to spread, rumoured to pass between two people the moment they fall in love. As the men of the town turn on her family, blaming them as super‐spreaders, Lidia sets out to uncover whether this plague is real, or a phantom born of fear.
“Part queer western, part beguiling fable, with moments straight out of a Latino soap opera, The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo is a touching and deeply moving film.” — The Guardian
Following the screening, stay for a moderated panel conversation (panelists to be announced) and an audience Q&A — a chance to dig deeper into the film’s themes of chosen family, love, fear and resilience in the face of a world quick to blame the marginalized.
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to experience bold queer storytelling on the big screen, in the heart of a museum dedicated to human rights.
Tickets and more information about the festival are available at reelpride.ca.