Rome - Venice Film Festival organizers unveiled Tuesday the
21 films running in this year's edition of the world's oldest cinema
competition, including films featuring several Hollywood stars.
Despite the recent US screenwriters' strike which delayed the
release of many films, meaning they were too late to be considered ,
five American-produced movies did find a berth in the competition,
festival director Marco Mueller said.
Included is Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme's, Rachel
Getting Married, starring upcoming Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway
and Academy-Award nominated Debra Winger.
Other American films are Kathryn Bigelow's Hurt Locker, starring
Ralph Fiennes, and Darren Aronofsky's, The Wrestler, with Mickey
Rourke and Marisa Tomei.
Box-office stars Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger pair up in
Mexican filmmaker Guillermo Arriaga's, The Burning Plain - the only
film made by a Latin American director to make the competition
line-up.
Mueller speaking at a Rome news conference likened the choosing of
films in this year's edition, the 65th, to the 'shuffling of playing
cards,' explaining that there was no theme or nationality dominating
the selection.
'We welcome a strong African return,' Mueller said, referring to
Ethiopian director Haile Gerima's, Teza. Completing the African
presence in the competition is Algerian-born Tariq Teguia's, Gabbla,
(Inland).
A 'powerful presence' by four Italian films reflects 'the current
excellent moment,' for Italian cinema Mueller said, alluding to the
Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, where Italian films won two
of the top honours.
Japan is represented by three films, two of them animated features
- The Sky Crawlers and Ponyo on Cliff by the Sea, respectively by
Mamoru Oshii and Hayao Miyazaki.
German director Wim Wenders will head the jury at this year's
festival which runs from August 27 to September 6 in the lagoon
city.
The world premier of Burn After Reading, by Oscar-winning
directors Joel and Ethan Coen - a film not in competition - will
open the festival on August 27.
USA
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