Reeling 2010: The Adults in the Room

In 1995, Andy Blubaugh—then a curious and lonely fifteen-year-old—began a sexual relationship with Peter, a successful but deeply closeted man nearly twice his age. While Peter gambled with the prospect of jail time, Andy exposed himself to an emotional obstacle course, longing for a lover to acknowledge him to the world. Many years later, Andy Blubaugh—now an independent filmmaker known for self-reflective work—takes on the task of scrutinizing the last unexamined part of his life: the strange affair with Peter during his teen years. In The Adults In The Room, these two story lines inform and support one another, painting a rich tableau of the ways that two men have intersected each other’s lives over the course of a decade, and what it truly means to be an adult. The narrative portion of the film focuses on a single month in the course of Andy and Peter’s tumultuous affair, in which a frustrated Andy writes a potentially inflammatory essay about Peter for a school assignment. The documentary portion of the film chronicles the creation of that narrative film, and the evolving relationship between Andy and Peter as they reconnect after fourteen years. The Adults in the Room Andrew Blubaugh (USA, 2009, 82 min.) Reeling: The Chicago Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival, the second oldest film festival of its kind in the US, is presenting 54 programs over 10 days from November 4-13, 2010. Advance sales are available until the day before the show. After that, tickets must be purchased at the theater box office on the day of the screening. Regular Screenings: $10 ($8 members), Matinee Screenings (before 5:00 pm): $8 ($6 members).

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