t’s that time again. Right around the middle of June, you start to get this eerie feeling in your gut. That’s buzz. By the time August roles around, the hype machine is in full force: the Toronto International Film Festival is coming. And unless you live under a rock, you’ll hear about it, and you’ll hear about it a lot. Fashionable Yorkville bars and restaurants start to feature special TIFF martinis; hotels break out the velvet ropes for celebrity lodgers; traffic centres around formalwear and jewellery stores. By golly, it’s Festival season!

Since its debut in 1976 at the Windsor Arms hotel, the Toronto International Film Festival has become a world class event, often considered the second most important film fest after Cannes. Some, such as Roger Ebert, even consider it the most important. And, unlike Cannes, you don’t have to be Claire Danes or the second assistant gaffer to buy a ticket. TIFF is open to the public.

That’s not to say you’ll be able to get a ticket. Many of the most anticipated films sell out far in advance, packing special Film Festival theatres to the brim. Some of the hottest films are already sold out, but if you show up at the box office near show time, there still might be a chance you can get a seat. Or pray for someone on the street to just hand you a ticket to a show. It sounds unlikely, but I swear it happened to me once.

Much of the difficulty in getting tickets is shrouded in the prestige of the films themselves. Many are world or North American premieres, while many are important films not only from Hollywood, but from all around the world. This allows the film industry to use the festival as a launching pad for Oscar buzz, sending some of the biggest stars to Toronto for red carpet treatment. Such powerhouse films as American Beauty, Ray, Sideways, and Crash have been unveiled in Toronto in recent years.

This year’s event, which runs from September 6 to September 15, hosts some of the most buzzed-about documentaries, star vehicles, Oscar pics, and world cinema. Among the highest profile premieres will be Battle in Seattle, starring Charlize Theron and Woody Harrelson, and Sean Penn's Into the Wild. Expect to spot Charlize, Woody, and the former Spicoli at some of Toronto’s more upscale haunts in the Entertainment District and Yorkville, like Sassafraz, which is set to reopen just in time for the event.