Here come the Dixie Chicks (left) and dozens of other great documentary subjects. Tune in here to read diary entries from the programmers and doc makers in the festival with daily updates on world premieres, parties and business deals.

This is my first year as the Toronto International Film Festival?s documentary programmer. But I?ve been coming as a visitor to the Festival since 1988 when I attended to catch Ron Mann?s Comic Book Confidential. (This year Mann is back with another comics-related doc Tales of the Rat Fink). Over the years I?ve experienced many unforgettable doc screenings at TIFF such as Terry Zwigoff?s Crumb, Steve James? Stevie and Michael Glawogger?s Megacities. (This year Glawogger brings us his fiction film Slumming).

Docs have come a long way at TIFF. When the field got its own section with Real to Reel in 1996, there were only 12 slots. This year there are over 30 offerings in RTR, plus several other docs spread out in Masters, Visions, Special Presentations and other sections. 

To get this blog going, I asked notable people in the doc field to contribute some of their favorite memories from TIFF. Here?s the first of many to come. From the two time  Academy Award winner...

BARBARA KOPPLE: I had the honor of bringing the first film I  directed to the inaugural Toronto Film Festival. It was one of the first times that  Harlan County USA had played in front of an audience, and it  was an experience I?ll never forget. I remember walking into the theater and seeing the huge audience there to see the documentary that I?d  finished just a few months before. It meant so much to me to see the audience engaged and reacting to the film, asking great questions and  offering their support. I had the privilege of bringing another film, My Generation, to the festival in 2000. That year there was also a  tribute to the films that showed in that first festival. I was amazed at  how many people came up to me and said they were there years ago in that  original Harlan County USA screening. It said so much about the remarkable  and supportive audiences that filmmakers find at the Toronto International  Film Festival. It?s an extraordinary event, and I?m excited to be there once  again this year with Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing, which I directed with  Cecilia Peck. I?m sure it will be another unforgettable  experience.