CinemaQ returns to Sie FilmCenter May 29–31 with Gregg Araki double feature, John Early closer

Denver Film has unveiled the lineup for CinemaQ 2026, the organization’s annual LGBTQIA+ film festival, running May 29–31 at the Sie FilmCenter. The three-day program kicks off Pride Month with a slate of features, shorts, parties and panel programming curated by founder Keith Garcia.

This year’s edition leans heavily on filmmaker Gregg Araki, with a new 4K restoration of his 2004 film Mysterious Skin screening alongside his latest, I Want Your Sex, which serves as the festival’s Centerpiece selection. The new film stars Cooper Hoffman and Olivia Wilde. Author Scott Heim, whose novel Mysterious Skin was the basis for the Araki adaptation, will appear in person for a post-film Q&A.

Opening night, Friday, May 29, brings the U.S. premiere of Leviticus, directed by Adrian Chiarella — a horror-tinged story of two teenage boys pursued by a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most. A late-night opening slot follows with the North American premiere of Lady Champagne, directed by D’Arcy Drollinger, who will attend for a Q&A.

Closing night, Sunday, May 31, features Maddie’s Secret, the new film from John Early, who stars as a food influencer secretly struggling with bulimia.

Other features in the lineup include Hafsia Herzi’s The Little Sister, the Mexican rodeo documentary Jaripeo from Efraín Mojica and Rebecca Zweig, Rachel Mason’s true-crime documentary My Brother’s Killer, Roger Conners’ slasher Meat, Lucio Castro’s Drunken Noodles and Brydie O’Connor’s Barbara Forever, a portrait of pioneering experimental lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer.

The festival also includes The Dads, Luchina Fisher’s documentary about fathers organizing in support of their trans and gender-expansive children. Subject Stephen Chukumba will appear for a post-film Q&A. A shorts program rounds out the screenings, with films from Lendon Henley Hanrahan, Bill Plympton and Daniel Neiden, Marcelese Cooper and Annalise Breaux, Hao Zhou, Renzo Cozza, Hannah Alline, and AJ and Carmela Dubler.

Conversion therapy panel tied to opening-night film

On Sunday, May 31 at 10 a.m., Garcia will moderate “Converting the Masses,” a community conversation on the current state of conversion therapy in Colorado — the subject of opening-night film Leviticus. The discussion follows a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision involving a Colorado case challenging the practice. Local experts and professionals will join the panel.

Festival events

Non-screening programming includes the Opening Night Party “Sinners and Saints” on Friday, May 29 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.; “SaturGAY Morning Cartoons + Cereal” on Saturday, May 30 at 10 a.m., a BYO-bowl cartoon program in the Sie lobby; and the CinemaQ Marketplace on Sunday, May 31 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring LGBTQ+-owned Denver small businesses.

CinemaQ runs May 29–31, 2026, at the Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. Tickets and passes are available at denverfilm.org.