A crowd gathers to watch as celebrities arrive at the Toronto International Film Festival opening night premiere of the feature film Score: A Hockey Musical in Toronto. (Dan Steinberg/Associated Press)

By Chris Berube, citizen contributor

Hi folks! I'm very excited to be posting here throughout the festival and to begin, I have to echo quite a bit of what people have been saying about TIFF so far on this blog.

The festival is much more than red-carpet premieres and star sightings (though celebrity is a large part of its appeal), and there is a certain electricity and excitement in downtown Toronto right now that is unparalleled throughout the rest of the year for film-lovers.

But there's one thing that not many people have mentioned so far about TIFF that strikes native Torontonians -- TIFF is really weird. It's more than just a film festival, it's a once-a-year social phenomenon that is full of contradictions and contrasts. For 10 days, TIFF turns Toronto into a locus for gawkers, auotgraph hounds and personal bodyguards. It can even have a mildly irritating effect for those of us who live in the city, where the traffic disruptions and ungainly crowds downtown have real consequences on how we get to work, go shopping and get home. Though for other residents, it's barely a blip on the radar. In a consistently busy metropolis like Toronto, it's easy to lose track of everything going on, so for most Torontonians, TIFF is just like any other week, only punctuated by short bursts of excitement and confusion when we encounter celebrities, block-long lineups and paparazzi.

A few years ago, I was one of those Toronto locals who did not pay close attention to the festival. As a high school student living in the west end, I was thoroughly unaware of the festival's impact on the city until I moved to the University of Toronto's downtown campus for school. Running into Dustin Hoffman at the grocery store was particularly shocking since it was during my first week of class, and my first week living away from home. I remember seeing designer clothing stores and gourmet spas open up on the expensive part of Bloor Street at the end of August, only to close three weeks later, after the festival-goers had returned home. Having lived downtown for five years, I have learned to embrace the excitement of TIFF, while remaining aware of the minor irritations it can cause for locals, too.

This year particularly, contrasts are something the festival has come to embrace. TIFF's recent efforts to try and engage with the city through outdoor screenings, celebrity events, and (this year) a big concert/block party, stand in sharp opposition to the staid screenings of three-hour foreign language films. The film list, too, could not be more diverse. Playing in the same theatre tonight after Jean-Luc Godard's most recent work of obscurity, Film Socialisme, is Fubar 2, the sequel to the trashy Canadian comedy, which is throwing itself a tailgate party afterwards and giving away prize packages from beer companies.

Throughout the festival, I'm going to try and cover the strange occurrences and reactions of Toronto residents as this big, busy city comes into contact once again with a big, busy festival. If you are a native Torontonian (or just visiting, and especially if you are doing this for the first time), be sure to send your thoughts and experiences our way! And also, follow me @chrisberube throughout the festival -- I will try to make note of the interesting stuff I see either on the streets or in the screening rooms throughout the week.

Have a good one, everybody! 

You can follow Chris throughout #TIFF10 on Twitter at @chrisberube