Well, it's that time of year again, when the leaves on trees are turning color and falling off, when the crisp autumn air requires sweaters to be worn and flip-flop sandals to be stored away, and when the Chicago Filmmakers present the 27th Annual Chicago Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival. Taking place November 6 - 16, this second-oldest lesbian and gay film festival in the world is better known as Reeling 27 and it is without a doubt the premier cultural event for the city's LGBT community and film-appreciating audiences.

This year's Festival theme is "All American Queer" as the line-up of films reflects the explosion in the production of American gay independent feature films. That said, Reeling is still very much an international festival and thus there will be plenty of films from abroad from countries such as Canada, Israel, South Africa, the U.K., Turkey, France, Germany, Brazil, Spain, and Norway.

In all, Reeling 27 will present 66 programs, with a total of 54 feature films (in genres ranging from insightful experimental to romantic comedy) and 12 programs of shorts. This year's Festival will also host several visiting filmmakers, producers, and actors who will appear at screenings and special events. Just a few of this year's expected guests are Ally Sheedy (High Art, The Breakfast Club), Project Runway winner Jay McCarroll, and the full cast of 3Way-including Maeve Quinlan and The L Word's Elizabeth Keener.

The Beginning & The End
Reeling will once again roll out the pink carpet to open the Festival on Thursday, November 6 at Piper's Alley with Breakfast with Scot, an engaging film directed by Laurie Lynd and starring Tom Cavanagh (of NBC's Ed and Scrubs) and Ben Shenkman (of Angels in America). They play a professional gay couple who have their discreet lives turned upside down when they gain custody of a flamboyant 11-year-old boy (played by scene stealer Noah Bernett) who flaunts purple boas and likes to wear makeup. The screening will take place at 7:30pm at Piper's Alley, with the Opening Night Party at Salon 1800 (157 W. North Ave.), including live entertainment, hors d'oeuvres, and an open bar courtesy of Blue Moon and Three Olives Vodka.

Reeling will close on Sunday, November 16, again at Piper's Alley, with the 7pm screening of Eleven Minutes, the no-holds-barred documentary that follows Project Runway's Jay McCarroll on his yearlong attempt to jump from the small screen to the fashion world in an 11-minute Bryant Park runway show. McCarroll himself will be on hand at the screening and at the Closing Night Party, again at Salon 1800, where his fashions will be on display.

What's In Between?
While the Opening and Closing of Reeling is exciting and glitzy, it's all the movies in between those two events that will give the Festival its soul. But with so many offerings, what should you go see? Well, the Reeling program guide (with the teasingly hot photo by BOI's own photographer Frank Failing) should be your first stop with its details about the Festival and informative synopses of each feature film. However, if you can't pick up a program guide or need further guidance, fear not. BOI has sorted through the exhaustive, and exhausting, schedule and has come up with the following films we think are worthy of your attention.

Screenings will be held at the following:

Piper's Alley (PA) -1608 N. Wells St.

Landmark's Century Centre Cinema (LCCC) - 2828 N. Clark St.

Film Row Cinema @ Columbia College (FRC) - 1104 S. Wabash Ave.

Lakeshore Theater (LT) - 3175 N. Broadway

Center on Halsted (COH) - 3656 N. Halsted St.

Chicago Filmmakers (CF) - 5243 N. Clark St.

Mulligans Canada, 2008, 89 Min
A son brings his gay college friend home for the summer and secrets get revealed: dad is gay and dad hooks up with the friend. Wife and son find out and aren't happy. Drama, drama, drama! Fri, Nov 7; 7pm @ LCCC (Theater 7)

Watercolors USA, 2008, 106 Min
Danny, sensitive and artistic, and Carter, the hunkiest swimmer in school, end up bunking together one weekend and a romance ensues. Of course this unleashes positive and negative consequences for both. Fri, Nov 7; 9pm @ LCCC (Theater 7)

Ice Blues USA, 2008, 85 Min
Out and proud actor Chad Allen plays America's most famous gay private eye as he attempts to unravel a deceased man's story that involves shady business deals, missing persons, and the leader of a child pornography ring. Sat, Nov 8; 1pm @ LCCC (Theater 7)

Dream Boy USA, 2008, 90 Min
Set in Louisiana in the 1970s, a reclusive teen starts tutoring a farm boy. This leads to a friendship, then to touching, and then to . But admist this sweetness, darkness looms. Sat, Nov 8; 5pm @ LCCC (Theater 7)

Antarctica Israel, 2008, 110 Min
Raw sexuality, intense emotion, and a steamy cast of some of the hottest men of Tel Aviv highlight this mesmerizing look at a geek-cute librarian and the inter-connectedness of the people in his life. Sat, Nov 8; 7:30pm @ LCCC (Theater 7)

OMG/HaHaHa USA, 2007, 74 Min
Part video blog, part improvisational narrative, and part pseudo documentary, this parody of the lives of a diverse set of gay, straight, and trans teens and twenty-somethings living in Memphis is a queer film for a new generation. Sun, Nov 9; 5:30pm @ LCCC (Theater 6)

Otto; Or, Up With Dead People Germany/Canada, 2008, 95 Min
Queer writer/director Bruce LaBruce presents a gruesome and graphic tale about a homeless zombie with an identity crisis who becomes an actor. Sun, Nov 9; 8pm @ LT

Lost Everything USA, 2007, 97 Min
A complicated, interwoven tale of fame, drugs, sex, deception and crime in South Beach with crazy cast of characters that includes a snoopy paparazzi, a ruthless agent, a prostitute, and a homophobic televangelist. Sun, Nov 9; 9pm @ LCCC (Theater 7)

SqueezeBox! USA, 2008, 93 Min
This down and dirty documentary traces the seven-year history of the punk/drag NYC party, SqueezeBox! featuring appearances by Debbie Harry, John Waters, Jackie Beat, Misstress Formika, Lady Bunny, and Rudy Giuliani. Sun, Nov 9; 9:15pm @ LCCC (Theater 6)

Whirlwind USA, 2007, 99 Min
A sexy stranger enters into a circle of tight-knit New York City friends and causes intrigue while exploiting each for his own pleasure. Mon, Nov 10; 9pm @ LCCC (Theater 7)

Ebony Chunky Love: Bitch Can't Get a Date USA, 2007, 73 Min
Successful stand-up comedian Keith Price, co-host of Sirius Radio's OutQ in the Morning, offers a genuine voice to issues such as the media's portrayal of gay black males, body image idealization, racism within the gay dating scene, and the DL. Tue, Nov 11; 7pm @ FRC

Spinnin' Spain, 2007, 110 Min
This uplifting tale deals with the conflicting views a gay couple has about having children and how they are affected when their lesbian friends decide to become parents. Fri, Nov 14; 6pm @ COH

Steam USA, 2007, 118 Min
Starring Ruby Dee and Ally Sheedy, three women of different generations who would be unlikely to know one another in the "outside" world share intimacies about their lives and loves in the steam room of their local gym. Fri, Nov 14; 7pm @ FRC

Friends & Lovers: The Ski Trip 2 USA, 2008, 97 Min
This the funny sequel to the romantic comedy The Ski Trip explores the ups and downs of the relationships of a group of African American men in Los Angeles. Fri, Nov 14; 9:15 PM
@ FRC

The New Twenty USA, 2008, 92 Min
A group of friends explores their lives as they apprehensively enter their thirties. When a newcomer joins the group, the friends are forced to make decisions that will shape the direction of their chosen paths for years to come-all on one fateful night. Sat, Nov 15; 5pm @ PA

3-Day Weekend USA, 2008, 84 Min
Eight gay men, including a high-priced rent boy and an uninhibited, nude yoga instructor, escape their hectic urban lives for a weekend in a mountain cabin in this film that's reminiscent of classics such as Love! Valour! Compassion! and The Big Chill.
Sat, Nov 15; 9pm @ PA