Film buffs have been lining up for hours to get first grabs at individual tickets for screenings at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

Sunday marked the first day that members of the public could line up and purchase single tickets. Single tickets can also be purchased online and over the phone as of today.

However, some of the most eager film fans lined up for hours to give themselves the best shot of getting tickets to the film of their choice.

John Ryan said he wanted to see Looper, the sci-fi film that will open the festival, as well as Imogene, a comedy starring former Saturday Night Live star Kristen Wiig.

But Ryan had plans to see more than that.

"We’re actually just buying tickets for about 12 different movies," Ryan told CBC News on Sunday morning.

Ryan was standing in line with a laptop in his hands to double his chances of getting the tickets he wants.

"We just got online and we’re going to buy tickets now, so we might not need to be in line any more," he said.

Erin Dushnicky had been waiting in line for an hour on Sunday morning when she spoke to CBC News, with hopes of scoring tickets to a few films that she and some friends want to see.

Dushnicky said she wanted to see Much Ado About Nothing, a new film from Joss Whedon, who most recently directed the blockbuster comic-book film The Avengers.

Promotional information on the TIFF website says Whedon’s adaptation is "an inventive, modern-day version of one of William Shakespeare’s most beloved plays."

The festival officially kicks off Sept. 6 and runs until Sept. 16.

With files from the CBC's Jermaine Hylton