Venice Film Festival Introduction

06 August 2008

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It seems that Hollywood has very much been overlooked at this year's Venice Film Festival in favour of European filmmakers as only five of the twenty one competition pictures come from America.

However many will say that it is high time that one of Europe's most prestigious film festivals focuses more on local filmmaking talent as the likes of Teriq Teguia, Pupi Avati and Pierre Trividia all make the list for the Golden Lion.

But Europe aren't having all of their own way as Darren Aronofsky shows his new film The Wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke, The Burning Plain from Guillermo Arriaga and Jonathan Demme's Rachel getting Married, starring Anne Hathaway, are all on show.

Alongside the U.S. and European directing talent there is a strong contingent of Japanese filmmaker including animation maestro Hayao Miyazaki, who is previewing his new movie Ponyo on Cliff by the Sea.

Out of the twenty one titles competing for the Golden Lion all but two of them will receive their world premiere at the festival.

The lack of American movies being shown is being blamed on the writers strike which crippled the movie and television industry in Hollywood earlier in the year.

However it's an American film that opens the festival as Burn After Reading, the new film from the Coen Brothers gets it's world premiere.

The film is the first from the pair since winning Best Picture and Best Director at this year's Oscars for No Country For Old Men and it stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich and Oscar winner Tilda Swinton.

The festival opens on 27th August and the winner will be announced on 6th September.

Competition Films The Wrestler - Darren Aronofsky (U.S., France)

The Burning Plain - Guillermo Arriaga (U.S.)

Il Papa di Giovanna - Pupi Avati (Italy)

Birdwatchers - Marco Bechis (Italy)

The Hurt Locker - Kathryn Bigelow (U.S.)

L’Autre - Patrick Mario Bernard, Pierre Trividic (France)

Hurt Locker - Kathryn Bigelow (U.S.)

Il Seme della discordia - Pappi Corsicato (Italy)

Rachel Getting Married - Jonathan Demme (U.S.)

Teza - Haile Gerima (Ethiopia, Germany, France)

Paper Soldier - Aleksey German Jr. (Russia)

Sut - Semih Kaplanoglu (Turkey, France, Germany)

Achilles and the Tortoise - Takeshi Kitano (Japan)

Ponyo on Cliff by the Sea - Hayao Miyazaki (Japan)

Vegas: Based on a True Story - Amir Naderi (U.S.)

The Sky Crawlers - Oshii Mamoru (Japan)

Perfect Day - Ferzan Ozpetek (Italy)

Jerichow - Christian Petzold (Germany)

Inju, the Beast in the Shadows - Barbet Schroeder (France)

Nuit de Chien - Werner Schroeter (France, Germany, Portugal)

Inland - Tariq Teguia (Algeria, France)

Plastic City Yu Lik-wai (Brazil, China, Hong Kong/China, Japan)

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw

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