The 58th Venice Film Festival opens today with 41 films in competition for the Golden Lion Award.
The Venice festival, which pre-dates those at Berlin and Cannes, is part of the summer-long Venice Biennale series of exhibitions and events.
For the first time, this year's festival will feature two competitions: the Venice 58 for international full-length films and the New Cinema of the Present category.
The organisers say that the new category will include fringe films that run counter to current trends, providing innovation and creative originality.
