As part of Black History Month and TD's Then & Now celebrations, the CFC is hosting an evening with filmmaker John Singleton, whose best-known projects include Shaft, and Boys N the Hood (which he directed at just 23). He was also the first black filmmaker to be nominated for an Oscar. TIFF will honour his impressive body of work with an evening of film clips, conversation, and audience Q & A. It'll be a great opportunity to pick the brain of a filmmaker who has consistently brought bold and compelling characters to the screen.

Sound good? Read on for how to get your hands on a pair of tickets.

Kathryn Bigelow strikes me as one of those rare dark horse types who comes out of nowhere (although Point Break has its considerable merits) to become a mainstay director. Following the immense (and well-deserved) success of The Hurt Locker, Bigelow is at it again (it being addressing modern warfare in utterly riveting ways) with Zero Dark Thirty. The film chronicles the 10-year-long hunt for Osama bin Laden; an intriguing subject made all that much more so through Jessica Chastain's by-all-accounts incredible performance.

Want to see it before it lands in theatres? Future Shop and Alliance Films are generously giving away 5 pairs of advance screening tickets.

Musician Patrick Watson frequently gets compared to other acts such as Rufus Wainwright, Andrew Bird and Jeff Buckley--in short, the man and his band are in very good company. He's previously worked with the Cinematic Orchestra, and his music has appeared on a slew of TV shows. On December 6, he'll be joined at Massey Hall by Canadian folk musicians The Barr Brothers, and we have one pair of tickets to give away.

Conor Oberst is best known for his work in Bright Eyes, aka the moody, pseudo-self-loathing soundtrack to your teenage years, although he's also been in bands such as Desaparecidos, and most recently Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band (their documentary, One of my Kind, was recently released). He'll be coming to Massey Hall on December 8, and will be joined by Canada's own Cold Specks.

We're offering up a pair of tickets to the show; read on for how to win.

Jian Ghomeshi is a fascinating man. He's known for many things, first and foremost his nationally-broadcasted daily talk show Q on CBC Radio, his opinionated writing, his years as part of musical group Moxy Früvous--and best of all, he was named one of Hello Magazine's "Most Beautiful Canadians" in 2010.

Recently, he released 1982, a memoir of sorts that documents his childhood, his musical tastes, and an all-around overview of how the boy became the man. Tonight, he'll be part of NOW Talks, a series of relaxed conversations with musicians, actors and authors, and we're offering up 2 pairs of tickets (with each pair accompanied by a copy of the book).

New Orleans continues to fascinate authors and filmmakers--particularly its seedy underbelly. The upcoming film Killing Them Softly takes a look at gambling, the mob, and other activities necessitating grim black leather jackets. Starring a particularly hirsute Brad Pitt and directed by Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), the film debuted at Cannes earlier this year to good reviews, and looks to be primed for holiday box office gold.

Want to see the film before it hits Toronto theatres? Here's how.