Film Fest’s Two Competitions Provide a New Twist in Venice

The 58th edition of the Venice Film Festival kicks off today with 146 films and a new twist on one of the world’s oldest festivals: two competitions instead of one.

Both competitions will award a Golden Lion prize when the festival ends Sept. 8. Twenty films will screen in the Venice 58 competition, and 21 films in Cinema of the Present, a new section promoting cutting-edge movies.

Among the Hollywood stars and directors expected in Venice are Martin Scorsese, Nicole Kidman, Danny DeVito, Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman. Elizabeth Taylor will be on hand for an AIDS charity dinner.

Most of the American offerings at the festival, which often serves as a launching pad for Hollywood films, are screening out of competition.

Two American movies are vying for a Golden Lion in the Venice 58 section: Larry Clark’s “Bully” and Richard Linklater’s “Waking Life,” with Ethan Hawke. Also in that competition is Kidman’s “The Others,” by Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar.

Only one American movie--Jill Sprecher’s “13 Conversations About One Thing,” starring Alan Arkin and Matthew McConaughey--is in Cinema of the Present.

Premiering out of competition will be Antoine Fuqua’s “Training Day,” with Denzel Washington, and “From Hell,” a thriller starring Johnny Depp as Jack the Ripper.

Other American offerings include David Mamet’s “Heist,” with Hackman and DeVito; Woody Allen’s “The Curse of the Jade Scorpion”; and Steven Spielberg’s “A.I. Artificial Intelligence.”

The festival will give audiences a first look at “Lucky Break,” British director Peter Cattaneo’s first feature since his 1997 hit “The Full Monty.”

The festival’s Golden Lion for lifetime achievement will go to French director Eric Rohmer.