Black Swan by Darren Aronofsky to open Venice Film Festival (corrected)

Jul 22, 2010, 18:19 GMT

Venice, Italy - US director Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman and Vincent Cassel, will be the opening film at this year's Venice Film Festival, organizers said on Thursday.

A psychological thriller set in the world of New York City ballet, Black Swan tells the story of a dancer who finds herself locked in a web of competitive intrigue with a new rival at the ballet company, the organizers said in a statement.

Black Swan also stars Barbara Hershey and Winona Ryder.

Aronofsky won the Venice Film Festival's highest award, the Golden Lion, in 2008 for his film The Wrestler, which starred Mickey Rourke.

Black Swan which is one of the films in competition in Venice this year, will have its world premiere screening on the evening of September 1 in the Sala Grande hall of the festival's Palazzo del Cinema venue on Venice's Lido.

'The cast and crew of Black Swan are both excited and humbled by the festival's invitation. It is an honour to walk the great red carpet on the Lido and we are excited to premiere our film to the wonderful audiences in Venice,' Aronofsky said in a statement distributed by the festival's organizers.

The Venice Film Festival, which was launched in 1932 and is the world's oldest film competition, will run September 1 to 11.

The full line-up of the films to be screened in and out of competition will be announced on July 29.

The jury of this year's edition of the festival, the 67th, will be headed by US filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.