Reel Affirmations plans Oct. screenings 

The cast of 'Bear City,' a TLA Releasing film Reel Affirmations is screening in Washington Oct. 16. (Photo courtesy of One in Ten/TLA)

Reel Affirmations, Washington’s 20-year-old LGBT film festival staged each year by the non-profit One in Ten, is moving its annual 10-day screening marathon to April but has three films slated for local screenings this month so the change won’t be too jarring for movie lovers.

“Bear City,” a comedic love story organizers say is not only for the bear community, has proven popular at other LGBT film festivals. It just won two awards last month at the Oslo Gay & Lesbian Film Festival in Norway and will be shown Oct. 16 at Washington’s Harman Center for the Arts (601 F Street, N.W.). Tickets are $15 and are available here. Actor Stephen Guarino, who stars in the film, will attend.

“We’re very excited to have this film,” says Larry Guillemette, chair of the festival and a former One in Ten president. “It’s very funny, very wittily written and a real audience pleaser.”

On Oct. 22, a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”-themed double feature consisting of feature film “A Marine Story” and documentary “Out of Annapolis” will be shown at the U.S. Naval Memorial Theatre (701 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.). Tickets are $15 each or a $25 pass gets viewers into both. Tickets are available here.

The full-fledged festival will be held April 28 to May 7. Why the change? Guillemette says the economic downturn combined with the timing of the resignation of former director Margaret Murray last year would have made it difficult to have the festival in its usual October slot since last year’s event ended in the red.

Though the organization is a non-profit, it has to break even to continue. A decision has not been made about replacing Murray. Volunteers are running the organization now.

Monthly screenings of various films of LGBT interest are planned starting in November but details are still being finalized.