Celeb-spotting opportunities for Torontonians are relatively meagre for much of the year. Sure, you might occasionally catch a glimpse of Geddy Lee, Don Cherry or a cast member of 'Degrassi: The Next Generation' shopping for a novelty toque, but most of the time, pickings are slim.

But that changes every September, when local stargazers take up their positions on the edges of red carpets, or on the sidewalks in front of the city's most exclusive and celeb-friendly hotels and clubs. Even better are the chance encounters with the famous and infamous in grotty bars and late-night convenience stores.

The Toronto International Film Festival makes a dramatic impact both on the city and on the continent. Inaugurated 32 years ago to showcase the hottest films on the international festival circuit - hence its original title, the Festival of Festivals - TIFF is now one of the world's most prestigious and powerful launching pads for new movies.

In recent years, it gave a pivotal early push for such Oscar favourites as 'Crash,' 'Walk the Line' and 'Ray.' Over the last decade, TIFF has become Hollywood's favourite venue to lay out their most promising wares for the fall movie season.

Of course, TIFF packs in hundreds of other films into its dauntingly busy schedule, including the best new work from Canada and award winners from elsewhere. But inevitably, it's the visiting stars who garner the most attention from the media as well as the autograph hounds who stake out the Four Seasons Hotel in Yorkville and the gala screenings at the Roy Thomson Hall. Here's the skinny on the city's most notable visitors, as well as the major new movies that are generating a similar level of anticipation:

The Out-of-Towners

The red carpet is never busier than it is for TIFF's program of gala screenings. Though heavyweight stars and filmmakers make their presence felt throughout the fest, the galas have the highest concentration of glamour.

This isn't the first time she'll be here: Reese Witherspoon was here in 2006 for 'Walk the Line'. (Getty)

On Sept. 7, Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal will be on hand for the premiere of 'Rendition,' a drama about a woman whose life is upended by the CIA's post-9/11 investigative tactics - it's directed by South African director Gavin Hood, whose 'Tsotsi' was last year's foreign film winner at the Academy Awards and an audience favourite at TIFF. The same night, George Clooney is in for 'Michael Clayton,' a corporate thriller by writer-director Tony Gilroy.

On Sept. 9, Cate Blanchett helps present 'Elizabeth: The Golden Age,' the follow up to the regal period pic that first earned the Australian actress international attention.

On Sept. 11, Woody Allen arrives with Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor, the two stars of his latest film, 'Cassandra's Dream.'

On Sept. 12, Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Connelly attend the premiere of 'Reservation Road,' a revenge drama by Hotel Rwanda director Terry George.

The list of other luminaries attending galas includes Samuel L. Jackson ('Cleaner'), Jude Law and Michael Caine ('Sleuth'), Woody Harrelson ('The Walker') and Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan ('The Last Lear').

And that list doesn't even include the stars who'll be in town to support other films at TIFF: Brad Pitt, Charlize Theron, Keira Knightley, Tommy Lee Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Sean Penn, Donald Sutherland, Liam Neeson, Thandie Newton... hell, even OutKast's Andre 3000 is in town.

The Home Team

Though the visiting international talent takes up a lot of space at TIFF, it remains the time for the Canadian film industry to adopt a certain swagger. An honour bestowed upon the likes of 'Water,' 'Sunshine' and 'The Sweet Hereafter,' the festival's opening-night gala slot is traditionally given to the homegrown production that stands the best chance of eliciting the affections of audiences and critics alike.

Making its world premiere on Sept. 6, 'Fugitive Pieces' is Toronto director Jeremy Podeswa's adaptation of Anne Michaels' much-loved novel about a Polish boy who escapes the terrors of World War II on a Greek island, but who is tormented by the loss of his sister. The large international cast includes Stephen Dillane and 'Pride & Prejudice's Rosamund Pike.

The closing-night film on Sept. 15 is adapted from another Can-lit classic about the legacy of WWII - Susan Sarandon, Gabriel Byrne and Max von Sydow star in Paolo Barzman's take on Matt Cohen's novel' Emotional Arithmetic,' about the reunion of three survivors of a French camp that was the last stop for those being sent to concentration camps.

A few months after its premiere at Cannes, festival favourite Denys Arcand returns with a gala screening of his latest, 'Days of Darkness,' an acerbic satire about a bureaucrat in a near-future Quebec. Another major Canadian director who opted to debut his latest film elsewhere - in this case, Venice - David Cronenberg brings 'Eastern Promises,' which sees him push once again the boundaries of the mainstream thriller. Joining the onetime Baron of Blood in this endeavour is Naomi Watts and Viggo Mortensen - the latter deserves honorary Canuck status for his two consecutive outings with Canada's most internationally revered filmmaker.

As for the Movies...

Whether it's the chance to be in the first audience for Hollywood's latest piece of Oscar bait or to see a masterpiece from some little-known corner of the globe, TIFF offers a huge array of choices for moviegoers. Knowing how to sift through the schedule and find the most promising new films is an imprecise science but there are some tactics that festival veterans use to suss out what's worth getting excited about. Try these tips.

The Coen Brothers are revealing their latest masterpiece at this year's TIFF. (Getty)

- Look for award winners from other festivals. Keeping in the tradition of Festival of Festivals, TIFF includes many films that have been honoured elsewhere in the world. This year's slate includes all of the major award winners from Cannes, including '4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days,' the harrowing Romanian drama that stole the Palme d'Or away from many higher-profile titles. Also at TIFF are fellow prize winners 'The Mourning Forest,' an austere yet mesmerizing film by Japan's Naomi Kawase, 'Secret Sunshine,' a terrific South Korean movie whose lead Jeon Do-yeon scored the Best Actress award, and 'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,' the third feature by artist turned filmmaker Julian Schnabel. Also coming to Toronto is another Cannes debut that was a major hit with critics, 'No Country for Old Men,' the Coen Brothers' best movie since 'The Big Lebowski.'

Many other films arrive fresh from Venice, where they'll be in competition for the Golden Lion, an award bestowed on such later TIFF favourites as 'Brokeback Mountain.' Among this year's contenders that will be screened in Toronto directly afterward are 'Atonement,' an adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel starring Keira Knightley, and 'In the Valley of Elah,' a drama starring Charlize Theron by Paul Haggis, the expat screenwriter and director who brought 'Crash' to TIFF in 2004, before the eventual Oscar Best Picture winner even had a distributor.

- Look for proven talent in intriguing combinations. Wondering what happens when you match the star of 'Hot Fuzz' with the guy who played Ross on 'Friends?' Try 'Run, Fat Boy Run,' a comedy starring Simon Pegg and directed by David Schwimmer. Or what about the author of 'No Logo' and the son of the director of 'Children of Men?' 'The Shock Doctrine' is a film companion to the new book by Naomi Klein made by Alfonso Cuaron's twentysomething son Jonas. Or how about pairing 'Half Nelson's Ryan Gosling with... uh, an inflatable doll? Yes, the pride of London, Ont., plays a man in love with a sex toy in 'Lars and the Real Girl.

- Trust the old standbys. You can expect some of the world's best filmmakers to come up with something interesting, if not always great. British director Ken Loach follows up his triumphant Irish civil war pic 'The Wind That Shakes the Barley' with the contemporary immigrant drama 'It's a Free World...' Neil Jordan ('he Crying Game' directs Jodie Foster in the revenge flick 'The Brave One.' In his first film since Far From Heaven, American director Todd Haynes unveils 'I'm Not There,' with its bewildering series of actors - including Richard Gere, Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett - in the role of Bob Dylan. And zombie king George A. Romero returns with 'Diary of the Dead,' another tale of people who won't just won't take death lying down.

Naturally, all this represents just a fraction of what goes on at TIFF. Though the chaos should cause nothing but headaches, the city seems to thrive on the madness. There may be no more exciting film event in the country, the continent or the world. If you happen to be in Toronto when it hits, make sure you've got your cellphone camera at the ready. You never know who you'll see searching for a pizza slice in the middle of the night.