Keira Knightley stars in 'A Dangerous Method', playing a young woman who became romantically caught up in the rivalry between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud Photo: PA
6:13PM BST 30 Aug 2011
Colin Firth, Kate Winslet, Keira Knightley and Jude Law will spearhead the British presence as the world's oldest film festival gets under way.
"It's a fantastic year for British cinema," said Sheri Jennings, who writes for Screen International, the film industry publication. "For three year in a row there had been no British films in competition.
This year there are three. There are a lot of big stars and some very strong films."
One of the most eagerly awaited is "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", an adaptation of John Le Carre's classic 1974 Cold War spy thriller, starring Firth, Gary Oldman and John Hurt.
The film, one of 22 in the main competition, will inevitably be compared with the BBC television series starring Alec Guinness as George Smiley.
"It's meant to be Keira Knightley as we've never seen her before, it's said to be a great acting performance," said Ms Jennings.
British director Andrea Arnold has produced an adaptation of the Emily Bronte novel "Wuthering Heights", describing it as "full of violence, death and cruelty." Kate Winslet stars with Jodie Foster in "Carnage", a film directed by Roman Polanski about two sets of New York parents who meet up after their children are involved in a brawl.
Outside the main line-up, Madonna makes her second foray into feature films with "W.E.", a drama loosely based on Wallis Simpson's relationship with Edward VIII, which led to his abdication in 1936.
The 11-day event enables film makers to showcase their work in a hectic round of press conferences, interviews and parties.
Venice had been in danger of being eclipsed by the Toronto and Cannes film festivals but this year is back on track, having managed to attract an impressive line-up of films and A-list stars.
The festival will open on Wednesday with the world premiere screening of "The Ides of March", a political drama which stars, and was directed by, George Clooney, who lives for part of the year at his house on the shores of Lake Como.
British director Andrea Arnold has produced an adaptation of the Emily Bronte novel "Wuthering Heights", describing it as "full of violence, death and cruelty." Kate Winslet stars with Jodie Foster in "Carnage", a film directed by Roman Polanski about two sets of New York parents who meet up after their children are involved in a brawl.
Outside the main line-up, Madonna makes her second foray into feature films with "W.E.", a drama loosely based on Wallis Simpson's relationship with Edward VIII, which led to his abdication in 1936.
The 11-day event enables film makers to showcase their work in a hectic round of press conferences, interviews and parties.
Venice had been in danger of being eclipsed by the Toronto and Cannes film festivals but this year is back on track, having managed to attract an impressive line-up of films and A-list stars.
The festival will open on Wednesday with the world premiere screening of "The Ides of March", a political drama which stars, and was directed by, George Clooney, who lives for part of the year at his house on the shores of Lake Como.