With the last all-day barbecues and lazy days of Labor Day weekend behind us, summer has uttered it’s last. But fear not Doc viewers, the fall film festival season is ushering us into the chillier months with a bang. Every September sees a collection of film buffs, movie critics, potential distributors, and industry movers and shakers attending the premieres of a number of heavy-hitting hopefuls on the film festival circuit. It is here that initial buzz will be generated for a number of this fall’s features, both positive and negative.

The 64th Venice Film Festival (August 28-Sept. 8) is in full swing, yesterday honoring Tim Burton with the much-coveted Golden Lion Award for lifetime achievement in filmmaking. Portions of Burton’s newest venture, a remake of the classic Broadway play Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, are being shown at the festival.

Jeremy Podeswa’s drama Fugitive Pieces kicked off the Toronto International Film Festival(Sept. 6-15), long known as a stepping-stone to Academy Awards success. On the documentary front, politics is ever a strong subject. Michael Moore’s new political doc Captain Mike Across America will be premiering as well as Jonathon Demme’s Man From Plains. Moore’s newest shock doc takes us inside the 2004 election campaign, while Demme’s film focuses on the life of former president Jimmy Carter. Other than politics, the festival’s Real to Reel documentary programming section is heavy with music-themed documentaries, including Grant Gee’s Joy Division, Murray Lerner’s Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who, and Soorush Alvi’s political and music-themed documentary Heavy Metal in Baghdad.

This week has also seen the unveiling of this year’s film lineup for the AFI Los Angeles Film Festival, another one of the expected stops on the road to nomination and higher box office achievement. The Rome International Film Festival in Rome, Georgia kicks off today as well, along with the Southeastern Film Industry Expo. For tickets and information, visit www.riff.net. Stay tuned the Documentary Channel blog for more festival updates and buzz-worthy docs as the season progresses.