Reel Q Reel Stories: Blue ID

Winner of the Audience Award at the world’s largest documentary film festival, IDFA in Amsterdam, Reel Q presents:  Blue ID.

Presented in partnership with one of the oldest LGBTQ+ film festivals in the world, Reel Stories is a free monthly film series dedicated to showcasing international queer cinema. Starting in 1985, Reel Q’s mission is to increase the availability and accessibility of queer film in Pittsburgh and its surrounding region, highlighting the diverse experiences of our worldwide community. Continuing in that mission, our January Reel Q screening is Blue ID, a moving Turkish documentary. 

Pink or blue? In Turkey, before you even know someone’s name, you used to be able to tell their gender by the color of their ID. Transitioning can be challenging enough for anyone. For some, it involves going through that process in the country with the highest transgender murder rate in Europe. For Rüzgar Erkoçlar, it involves doing so under constant media attention.

Prior to his transition, Rüzgar was a famous actor frequently in the public eye. Made by his friends about his joyful experience transitioning, Blue ID quickly evolves into a story about privacy versus isolation, the paparazzi, and being an out transgender public figure in a society with extremely strict distinctions between male and female… and deadly consequences for those who dare to defy those distinctions. Directed by Burcu Melekoglu and Vuslat Karan, Blue ID is a documentary tale of one trans man’s fight to live authentically against all odds.

About Your Visit: 

This film screening is preceded by a cocktail hour beginning at 6pm (featuring a special themed drink) upstairs at our in-house bar and restaurant, 40 North.

The in-house restaurant 40 North is open for dinner from 5-9pm. Please visit Open Table or call 412-435-1111 to make a reservation.