BALLATA FEMMENELLA, June 29
BALLATA FEMMENELLA
QUEER EXPRESSION FILM SERIES
Presented by OPEN SPACE ARTS
MONDAY, JUNE 29, 2026 • 7:00 PM
FACETS FILM FORUM
96 minutes | 2026 | Italy
Italian with English subtitles
We close PRIDE MONTH with BALLATA FEMMENELLA—a bold and necessary portrait that honors queer history while confronting the realities still shaping LGBTQ+ lives today.
ABOUT THE FILM
BALLATA FEMMENELLA is a moving and deeply textured journey into the largest and oldest transgender community in Europe: the femmenelle of Naples. Rooted in centuries of history and culture, the femmenelle are an integral part of the city’s identity—at once spiritual, social, and political.
Through the voices and lived experiences of its protagonists—including activists, artists, sex workers, and community leaders—the film traces both ancestral traditions and urgent contemporary struggles. It draws us into the intimate streets and hidden corners of Naples, where history, identity, and daily life are inseparable.
Their stories illuminate lives shaped by resilience, devotion, exclusion, and fierce pride, offering a portrait that is at once intimate and expansive.
Far from any folkloric simplification, BALLATA FEMMENELLA stands as both a political and poetic work—a manifesto of denied identities and a declaration of love for a community without which Naples, and perhaps Europe itself, would be immeasurably poorer.
FESTIVAL RECOGNITION
Winner, BEST DOCUMENTARY — Perth Queer Film Festival
Winner, Audience Award + additional honors — Lovers Film Festival (Italy)
FILMMAKERS
Directed by ELETTRA RAFFAELA MELUCCI and GIOVANNI BATTISTA ORIGO
Written by ELETTRA RAFFAELA MELUCCI and GIOVANNI BATTISTA ORIGO
FEATURING
Samantha Acierno, Sara Carbone, Jackie Ferrè
JOIN US
One night only at FACETS. Experience this powerful work of queer world cinema and stay for post-screening conversation in the lounge, with cocktails and concessions available.
BALLATA FEMENELLA STILLS
SUMMER'S CAMERA, July 27
SUMMER’S CAMERA
Monday, July 27 at 7:00 PM
FACETS Film Forum
1517 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago
Open Space Arts presents the Chicago premiere of SUMMER’S CAMERA, a tender South Korean coming-of-age romance about first love, grief, photography, and the secrets we inherit from the people we love.
After the death of her father, high school student Summer discovers one of his old cameras and begins using it to document her first year of school. Her lens soon turns toward Yeon-woo, the star of the school’s soccer team, and Summer’s shy crush opens the door to a new understanding of herself. But when she develops the unfinished roll left behind in her father’s camera, Summer uncovers a hidden piece of his life—one that reshapes her own journey into queer identity, memory, and love.
Written and directed by Divine Sung, SUMMER’S CAMERA premiered at BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival and has been praised as a dreamy, beautifully shot queer coming-of-age drama.
Country: South Korea
Year: 2025
Runtime: 82 minutes
Language: Korean with English subtitles
Director/Writer: Divine Sung
Producer: Joy Yu
Cast: Kim Si-a, Kwak Min-kyu, Yu Ga-eun, Lee Eun-sol
A post-screening conversation will follow in the FACETS lounge. Cocktails and concessions are available.
UNCLE ROY, August 31
UNCLE ROY
Monday, August 31, 2026 • 7:00 PM
FACETS Film Forum • 1517 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago
A moving and deeply personal documentary, UNCLE ROY follows the extraordinary life of Roy Blakey—world-traveling ice skater, renowned photographer, collector, and pioneer of gay male photography—as seen through the eyes of his niece, filmmaker Keri Pickett. As Roy faces the challenges of dementia in his nineties, Pickett embarks on a race against time to preserve both his remarkable archives and the legacy of a man whose life intersected with queer history, art, and performance.
From touring the world with Holiday on Ice to creating groundbreaking male nude photography and documenting generations of performers, Roy's story is one of creativity, resilience, and self-discovery. The film is both an intimate family portrait and a celebration of a queer artist whose work helped shape LGBTQ+ visual culture.
Built from nine decades of photographs, films, letters, and memorabilia, UNCLE ROY is a heartfelt exploration of memory, legacy, chosen family, and the importance of preserving queer history before it disappears.
"A powerful look at one man's work capturing the gay liberation movement of the 1970s and 1980s."
BOOKENDS, September 28
BOOKENDS, September 28
BOOKENDS
Monday, September 28, 2026 • 7:00 PM
FACETS FILM FORUM • 1517 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago
United States | 99 min
Director: Mike Doyle
After a painful breakup, aspiring novelist Nate leaves New York City and moves into a retirement community with his grandparents. What begins as a temporary refuge quickly becomes a complicated journey through family, aging, responsibility, and unexpected love. As his Holocaust-surviving grandfather begins showing signs of dementia and his grandmother struggles to face the truth, Nate finds himself caught between the life he left behind and the family that needs him now. An unexpected romance with the community's handsome doctor further complicates his plans.
Starring F. Murray Abraham, Caroline Aaron, Noam Ash, and Charlie Barnett, BOOKENDS is a warm, funny, and deeply moving intergenerational story about love, memory, family, and second chances. The film premiered at the 2026 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where it received the ADL Stand Up Award.
Critics have praised the film for balancing humor and emotion with honesty and grace. Reviewer Mark McPherson called it "a heartfelt story of family and romance that is more honest than schmaltzy," while festival audiences have celebrated its rich performances and moving portrayal of family caregiving.
Written by and starring Noam Ash and directed by Mike Doyle, BOOKENDS offers a refreshing queer love story that is equally concerned with family bonds, aging, and the unexpected connections that help us move forward.
Funny, tender, and life-affirming, BOOKENDS reminds us that every ending can also be a new beginning.