The season of red carpets is upon us.

By Julian Carrington • Photos by Christopher Drost and Erin Seaman

TIFF ’12 began with a bang on Thursday night, with the red carpet premiere of Looper, a terrific time-travel noir from director Rian Johnson. Also making its North American bow on Thursday was Walter Salles’ adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s boho classic On the Road, while Juno director Jason Reitman conducted a read-through of American Beauty with some very special pals.

Friday saw the festival swing into high gear, with the premieres of Paul Thomas Anderson’s hugely anticipated The Master, Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina, Kristen Wiig–starrer Imogene, Sally Potter’s Ginger & Rosa, and Martin McDonagh’s star-studded Seven Psycopaths. There were also debuts for two docs: Reincarnated, which chronicles Snoop Dogg’s chornic-fueled transformation into Snoop Lion, and Stories We Tell, from Toronto filmmaker Sarah Polley.

Photos from all that, and more, in the gallery up top.