BLACK BOOK in Venice

For the first time in Venice's history, all 21 films in competition will be world premieres.

"This year we can be really happy as all the films we wanted in Venice are here," artistic director Marco Mueller said at a press conference in Rome.

With new competition from the upcoming Rome Film Festival looming in the background, Mueller underlined Venice's continued popularity among international producers and sales agents. He said the number of films viewed by the selection committed had actually risen this year to 1,429 from 1,100.

"Many producers and sales agents know that only Venice can offer a film something beyond just a launching-pad. Venice allows a film to have special visibility," he said.

Biennale president Davide Croff said private sponsorship had risen 40% this year.

62 films are screening in the official selection.

Competition slots were particularly prized this year. In the past, US producers have often targeted out-of-competition slot for a less pressurized environment, but this year most US films will actually be playing in competition.

Out of the 13 US films in Venice, 9 are in competition, including Aronofsky's The Fountain with Rachel Weisz, Allen Coulter's Hollywoodland with Adrien Brody and Ben Affleck and Estevez's Bobby with Sharon Stone and Anthony Hopkins.

Highlighting the trend, Mueller said Brian De Palma has asked for his Venice opener, The Black Dahlia, to be in competition. Traditionally, opening films play out-of-competition.

Orizzonti, the Venice competition dedicated to experimental films, will premiere Ethan Hawke's The Hottest State and Shinji Aoyama's Koorogi. The Orizzonti Doc section includes documentaries by Spike Lee (When the Levees Broke. A Requiem in Four Acts) and Edgar Reitz's Heimat - Fragmente.

Out of competition films include David Lynch's Inland Empire, Oliver Stone's World Trade Center and Devil Wears Prada.

In terms of geography, the 63rd Venice festival marks one of the most wide-ranging editions, with films coming from a 27 countries. Chad (Daratt) and Thailand (Sang sattawat) both have films in competition for the first time.

Italy has 10 films in the official selection, including two in competition: Gianni Amelio's The Missing Star and Emanuele Crialese's Nuovomondo (The Golden Door).

Japan has six films in Venice, including two in the main competition. France has four films, including two in the main competition: Benoit Jacquot's L'Intouchable and Alain Resnais' Private Fears In Public Places.

There are 11 debut features from 11 countries, all set to compete for the Lion of the Future award, which offers a Euros 100,000 prize to the best first film. First features include animation film Gedo Senki by Hayao Miyazaki's son, Goro.

The festival's closing film will be Russian director Pavel Lounguine's Ostrov.

IN COMPETITION

OPENING FILM: THE BLACK DAHLIA
Dir: Brian De Palma
USA - 120’
Main cast: Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Mia Kirshner, Mike Starr, Fiona Shaw

FALLEN
Dir: Barbara Albert
Austria - 88’
Main cast: Nina Proll, Birgit Minichmayr, Ursula Strauss

LA STELLA CHE NON C’È
Dir: Gianni Amelio
Italy, France, Switzerland, Singapore - 103’
Main cast: Sergio Castellitto, Tai Ling

THE FOUNTAIN
Dir: Darren Aronofsky
USA - 96’
Main cast: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz

HOLLYWOODLAND
Dir: Allen Coulter
USA - 126’
Main cast: Adrien Brody, Ben Affleck, Diane Lane, Bob Hoskins

THE GOLDEN DOOR
Dir: Emanuele Crialese
Italy, France - 120’
Main cast: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Vincenzo Amato, Francesco Casisa

CHILDREN OF MEN
Dir: Alfonso Cuarón
UK, USA - 114’
Main cast: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine

BOBBY
Dir: Emilio Estevez
USA - 120’
Main cast: Sharon Stone, Anthony Hopkins, Demi Moore, Lindsay Lohan, Laurence Fishburne

THE QUEEN
Dir: Stephen Frears
UK, France, Italy - 97’
Main cast: Helen Mirren, James Cromwell, Michael Sheen

DARATT
Dir: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Ciad
France, Belgium, Austria - 96’
Main cast: Ali Barkai, Youssouf Djoro, Hisseine Aziza

L’INTOUCHABLE
Dir: Benoît Jacquot
France - 82’
Main cast: Isild Le Besco, Bérangère Bonvoisin, Marc Barbé

PAPRIKA
Dir: Kon Satoshi
Japan - 90’

NUE PROPRIÉTÉ
Dir: Joachim Lafosse
Belgium, Luxembourg, France - 92’
Main cast: Isabelle Huppert, Jérémie Renier, Yannick Renier

MUSHI-SHI
Dir: Ôtomo Katsuhiro
Japan - 131’
Main cast: Joe Odagiri, Makiko Esumi, Nao Omori

PRIVATE FEARS IN PUBLIC PLACES
Dir: Alain Resnais
France, Italy - 120’
Main cast: Lambert Wilson, Sabine Azema, André Dussollier, Laura Morante, Pierre Arditi, Isabelle Carré

QUEI LORO INCONTRI
Dir: Jean-Marie Straub, Danièle Huillet
Italy, France - 68’
Main cast: Angela Nugara, Vittorio Vigneti, Grazia Orsi

EXILED
Dir: Johnnie To
Hong Kong, China - 98’
Main cast: Francis Ng, Nick Cheung, Simon Yam, Anthony Wong

HEI YANQUAN
Dir: Tsai Ming-Liang
Taiwan, France, Austria - 115’
Main cast: Kang-Sheng Lee, Shiang-Chyi Chen, Atun Norman

BLACK BOOK
Dir: Paul Verhoeven
Netherlands, Germany, UK - 135’
Main cast: Carice van Houten, Thom Hoffman, Sebastian Koch, Halina Reijn

EJFORIJA
Dir: Ivan Vyrypaev
Russia - 74’
Main cast: Polina Agureeva, Maxim Ushakov, Mikhail Okunev

SANG SATTAWAT
Dir: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Thailand, France - 105’
Main cast: Nantarat Sawaddikul, Jaruchai Iamaram, Sophon Pukanok, Jenjira Pongpas

OUT OF COMPETITION

QUELQUES JOURS EN SEPTEMBRE
Dir: Santiago Amigorena
France, Italy - 112’
Main cast: Juliette Binoche, John Turturro, Sara Forestier, Nick Nolte

THE MAGIC FLUTE
Dir: Kenneth Branagh UK - 135’
Main cast: Joseph Kaiser, Amy Carson, Benjamin Jay Davis, Lyubov Petrova, René Pape

THE BANQUET
Dir: Feng Xiaogang
China - 131’
Main cast: Daniel Wu, Zhang Ziyi, Ge You

DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Dir: David Frenkel
USA - 110’
Main cast: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci

OSTROV
Dir: Pavel Lounguine
Russia - 112’
Main cast: Petr Mamonov, Dmitry Dyuzhev, Viktor Sukhorukov

INLAND EMPIRE
Dir: David Lynch
USA - 168’
Main cast: Laura Dern, Jeremy Irons, Justin Theroux, Julia Ormond

TALES FROM EARTHSEA
Dir: Miyazaki Goro
Japan - 115’

BELLE TOUJOURS
Dir: Manoel de Oliveira
Portugal - 68’
Main cast: Michel Piccoli, Bulle Ogier

WORLD TRADE CENTER
Oliver Stone
USA - 129’
Main cast: Nicolas Cage, Michael Pena, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello

OUT OF COMPETITION – MIDNIGHT

PARA ENTRAR A VIVIR
Dir: Jaume Balaguero
Spain - 68’
Main cast: Macarena Gómez, Adrià Collado, Nuria González, Ruth Díaz

ROB-B-HOOD
Dir: Chan Benny
Hong Kong, China - 134’
Main cast: Jackie Chan, Louis Koo, Michael Hui

BAAZ HAM SIB DAARI?
Dir: Fazli Bayram
Iran - 90’
Main cast: Zabih Afshaar, Leila Mousavi, Ali Yaagoubi

SAKEBI
Dir: Kurosawa Kiyoshi
Japan - 96’
Main cast: Kôji Yakusho, Manami Konishi, Hiroyuki Hirayama, Joe Odagiri

THE WICKER MAN
Dir: Neil Labute
USA - 97’
Main cast: Nicolas Cage, Molly Parker, Ellen Burstyn, Leelee Sobieski

JAKPAE
Dir: Ryoo Seung-wan
South Korea - 92’
Main cast: Ahn Jae-mo, Ahn Kil-Kang, Jeong Seok-yong, Jo Deok-hyeon

SUMMER LOVE
Dir: Piotr Uklansky
Poland - 93’
Main cast: Boguslaw Linda, Karel Roden, Katarzyna Figura, Val Kilmer

OUT OF COMPETITION - SPECIAL EVENT

LETTERE DAL SAHARA
Dir: Vittorio De Seta
Italy - 123’
Main cast: Djbril Kebe, Paola Ajmone Rondo

HORIZONS

SUELY
Dir: Karim Ainouz
Brazil - 90’
Main cast: Hermila Guedes, Maria Menezes, Zezita Matos, Joao Miguel Leonelli, Georgina Castro, Claudio Jabo Randy, Marcélia Cartaxo, Matheus Vieira

KOOROGI
Dir: Shinji Aoyama
Japan - 102’
Main cast: Suzuki Kyoka, Yamazaki Tsutomu

THE HOTTEST STATE
Dir: Ethan Hawke
US - 117’
Main cast: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Laura Linney, Sonia Braga, Ethan Hawke, Mark Webber, Michelle Williams

TAIYANG YU
Dir: Yuhang Ho
Malaysia, Hong Kong - 102’
Main cast: Kuan Choon Wai, Liu Wai Hung, Yasmin Ahmad, Cheung Wing Hong

SVOBODNOE PLAVANIE
Dir: Boris Khlebnikov
Russia - 101’
Main cast: Alexander Yatsenko, Daria Ekamasova, Evgeny Syty

EL COBRADOR
Dir: Paul Leduc
Mexico, Argentina, Brazil - 90’
Main cast: Peter Fonda, Antonella Costa, Dolores Heredia, Jesus Ochoa

MABEI SHANG DE FATING
Dir: Jie Liu
China - 105’
Main cast: Li Baotian, Ning Yangya, Lai Luyu, Liang Liting

INFAMOUS
Dir: Douglas McGrath
US - 118’
Main cast: Toby Jones, Sandra Bullock, Daniel Craig, Peter Bogdanovich, Jeff Daniels, Gwyneth Paltrow, Isabella Rossellini, Sigourney Weaver

OPERA JAWA
Dir: Garin Nugroho
Indonesia - 120’
Main cast: Martínus Míroto, Eko Supríyato, Retno Marutí, Nyoman Sura

QUIJOTE
Dir: Mimmo PALADINO
Italy - 75’
Main cast: Peppe Servillo, Lucio Dalla, Alessandro Bergonzoni, Enzo Cucchi, Ginestra Palladino, Enzo Moscato

NON PRENDRE IMPEGNI STASERA
Dir: Gianluca Tavarelli
Italy - 96’
Main cast: Luca Zingaretti, Giorgio Tirabassi, Alessandro Gassman, Andrea Renzi, Paola Cortellesi, Francesca Inaudi, Donatella Finocchiaro, Michela Cescon

ROMA WA LA N’TOUMA
Dir: Tariq Teguia
Algeria, France, Germany - 111’
Main cast: Samira Kaddour, Rachid Amrani

HORIZONS (DOCUMENTARY)

ANA ALATI TAHMOL AZOUHOUR ILA QABRIHA
Dirs: Hala Allabdalla Yakoub, Ammar Al Beik
Siria, France - 110’

BELLISSIME 2
Dir: Giovanna Gagliardo
Italy - 180’

DONG
Dir: Zhangke Jia
China - 63’

THE US Vs JOHN LENNON
Dirs: David Leaf, John Scheinfeld
US - 99’

WHEN THE LEEVES BROKE: A REQUIEM IN FOUR ACTS
Dir: Spike Lee
US - 240’

TACHIGUISHI RETSUDEN
Dir: Mamoru Oshii
Japan - 104’

HEIMAT – FRAGMENTE
Dirs: Edgar Reitz, Christian Reitz
Germany - 145’