'Burn After Reading' touted for Oscars premiers at 65th Venice Film Festival

Burn After ReadingVenice- 65th Venice Film Festival (27th August- 6th September 2008) is all geared up for the worldwide preview of 'Burn After Reading' by Joel and Ethan Coen. According to film critics, though in the non-competitive category, it's the most eagerly anticipated film as the movies that feature at the annual Venice festival are always considered to do well at the following Oscars. In 2007, 'Atonement' and 'Michael Clayton', premiered at Venice, managed seven Oscar nominations each, while in 2005 'Brokeback Mountain' scooped Venice's top Golden Lion award and later earned its director Ang Lee an Oscar as Best Director.

65th Venice Film Festival will be hosted by one of the best known Russian film and theatre actresses, Ksenia Rappoport, who won the 2007 David di Donatello for Best Actress in La Sconosciuta (The Unknown) by Giuseppe Tornatore.

'Burn After Reading', written and directed by Academy Award winners Joel and Ethan Coen features top actors such as George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, and Brad Pitt.

'Burn After Reading' is a Working Title Production, produced by Joel and Ethan Coen and executive-produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Robert Graf. 'Burn After Reading' will be released in the UK on 5th September, distributed by Universal Pictures; and in the United States on 12th September, distributed by Focus Features.

In the dark spy-comedy, Mr. Malkovich plays an ousted CIA official whose memoir accidentally falls into the hands of two unwise Washington, D.C. gym employees intent on exploiting their find. The director of photography on Burn After Reading is Emmanuel Lubezki (Children of Men). Mary Zophres is the costume designer, marking her eighth consecutive feature with the Coens. Jess Gonchor, production designer on No Country for Old Men, encores in that capacity on Burn After Reading.

Biennale Cinema 65th Venice Film Festival Venezia 65 - In Competition

Darren Aronofsky The Wrestler – USA, 105‘
Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood

Guillermo Arriaga The Burning Plain – USA, 147’
Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger, Joaquim de Almeida

Pupi Avati Il papà di Giovanna – Italy, 104’
Silvio Orlando, Alba Rohrwacher, Francesca Neri, Ezio Greggio, Serena Grandi

Marco Bechis BirdWatchers – Italy / Brazil, 108’
Claudio Santamaria, Alicélia Batista Cabreira, Chiara Caselli, Abrisio Da Silva Pedro

Patrick Mario Bernard, Pierre Trividic L’Autre – France, 97’
Dominique Blanc, Cyril Gueï, Peter Bonke, Christèle Tual

Kathryn Bigelow Hurt Locker – USA, 131’
Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce, David Morse, Jeremy Renner

Pappi Corsicato Il seme della discordia – Italy, 85’
Caterina Murino, Alessandro Gassman, Martina Stella, Michele Venitucci, Isabella Ferrari

Jonathan Demme Rachel Getting Married – USA, 116‘
Anne Hathaway, Debra Winger, Rosemarie Dewitt, Bill Irwin, Tunde Adebimpe

Haile Gerima Teza – Ethiopia / Germany / France, 140’
Aron Arefe, Abiye Tedla, Takelech Beyene

Aleksey German Jr. Buma?nyj soldat (Paper Soldier) – Russia, 116’
Chulpan Khamatova, Merab Ninidze, Anastasya Shevelyova

Semih Kaplanoglu Süt – Turkey / France / Germany, 102‘
Melih Selcuk, Basak Koklukaya

Takeshi Kitano Akires to kame (Achilles and the Tortoise) – Japan, 119’
Beat Takeshi, Kanako Higuchi, Yurei Yanagi, Kumiko Aso

Hayao Miyazaki Gake no ue no Ponyo (Ponyo on Cliff by the Sea) – Japan, 101’
animation

Amir Naderi Vegas: Based on a True Story – USA, 102‘
Mark Greenfield, Nancy La Scala, Zach Thomas

Mamoru OshiiThe Sky Crawlers – Japan, 122’
animation

Ferzan ?zpetek Un giorno perfetto – Italy, 95’
Isabella Ferrari, Valerio Mastandrea, Valerio Binasco, Nicole Grimaudo, Stefania Sandrelli

Christian Petzold Jerichow – Germany, 93’
Nina Hoss, Benno Fürmann, Hilmi S?zer

Barbet Schroeder Inju, la Bête dans l’ombre – France, 105’
Magimel Benoît, Minamoto Lika, Shun Sugata, Maurice Bénichou, Ryo Ishibashi

Werner Schroeter Nuit de chien – France / Germany / Portugal, 110’
Pascal Greggory, Bruno Todeschini, Amira Casar, Jean-François Stevenin

Tariq Teguia Gabbla (Inland) – Algeria / France, 140’
Kader Affak, Ines Rose Djakou, Ahmed Benaïssa, Fethi Ghares, Kouider Medjahed, Djalila Kadi-Hanifi

YU Lik-wai Dangkou (Plastic City) – Brazil / China / Hong Kong/China / Japan, 118’
Joe Odagiri, Anthony Wong, Huang Yi, Jeff Chen