What has made the Toronto International Film Festival such a major event, while other large fests remain decidedly second-tier? “Over the years, Toronto has become a kind of Canadian Cannes equivalent for North American journalists and moviegoers. It’s a great, awesomely packed film soiree that brings together movies, moviemakers, critics, reporters and audiences for a contemporary world film smorgasbord. It’s also a more accessible festival. Cannes, the queen of the fest circuit, is a professional festival that doesn’t sell tickets to the public. Toronto does — and it also allows the paying audiences to choose their most important prize.”