Colin Firth stars in The King's Speech. (TIFF)

By Greig Dymond, CBC News

Hi there, welcome back for Day Two of the Daily TIFF Riff. Looks like we actually survived Day One.

We're now heading into the annual weekend of craziness, when dozens of Hollywood stars invade the T-dot; by next Tuesday, the torrent of American celebs will have slowed to a trickle.

The fact is, TIFF is now the place to launch an Oscar campaign. Just ask the folks behind Slumdog Millionaire and The Hurt Locker. Thanks largely to its spot on the calendar -- when the industry starts to focus once again on "serious" films -- the Toronto fest is regarded as the kickoff to awards season. If you don't show up at TIFF, your chances for one of those shiny bald statues are drastically reduced.

This year, The King's Speech is getting a ton of Oscar buzz. It's one of the gala presentations at Roy Thomson Hall tonight. Colin Firth stars as "Bertie" (a.k.a. King George VI, and the father of Queen Elizabeth), who becomes king when his older brother, King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce), abdicates the throne.

Turns out the future sovereign had a serious problem with stuttering, and this film recreates his real-life relationship with an Australian speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Costume drama queen Helena Bonham Carter is on hand to play Bertie's wife, Elizabeth - better known to us as the Queen Mother. Director Tom Hooper was at TIFF last year with The Damned United, an excellent soccer movie set in the 1970s. He can certainly do period drama, and this new film looks like catnip for Oscar voters.

Other films premiering today:

I'm Still Here: Director Casey Affleck's documentary about Joaquin Phoenix's curious decision to renounce acting and embrace mediocre hip-hop.

Stone: Despite the immense acting chops of stars Robert De Niro and Edward Norton, this thriller never really achieves lift-off.

Passion Play: A jazz love story with a great cast that includes Mickey Rourke, Megan Fox, Bill Murray, Rhys Ifans.

Daydream Nation: A Canadian drama starring Kat Dennings that many critics are embracing.

Happy viewing.

You can follow Greig throughout #TIFF10 on Twitter at @cbcarts