Xavier Dolan film to compete at Venice Film Fest

Canadian director Xavier Dolan will unveil his latest film alongside new work by Stephen Frears, Terry Gilliam, Errol Morris and Hayao Miyazaki at the 2013 Venice Film Festival.

Organizers unveiled in Rome today the lineup for the upcoming 70th edition, which runs Aug. 28-Sept. 7.

Young Quebec filmmaker Dolan's new drama Tomla ferme will screen in competition for the festival's top prize, the Golden Lion. Based on a play by Michel-Marc Bouchard, Dolan's film tells the story of a gay man who attends the funeral of his lover, only to learn that no one knew of the deceased's sexuality nor their relationship.

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Altogether, 20 films will vie for the Golden Lion, including:

• Es-Stouh, directed by Merzak Allouache.
• L'Intrepido, directed by Gianni Amelio.
• Miss Violence, directed by Alexandros Avranas.
• Tracks, directed by John Curran.
• Via Castellana Bandiera, directed by Emma Dante.
• Child of God, directed by James Franco.
• Philomena, directed by Stephen Frears.
• La Jalousie, directed by Philippe Garrel.
• The Zero Theorem, directed by Terry Gilliam.
• Ana Arabia, directed by Amos Gitai.
• Under the Skin, directed by Jonathan Glazer.
• Joe, directed by David Gordon Green.
• Die Frau des Polizisten, directed by Philip Groning.
• Parkland, directed by Peter Landesman.
• Kaze Tachinu, directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
• The Unknown Known, directed by Errol Morris.
• Night Moves, directed by Kelly Reichardt.
• Sacro Gra, directed by Gianfranco Rosi.
• Jiaoyou (Stray Dogs), directed by Ming-Liang Tsai.

Famed director Bernardo Bertolucci will preside over this year's jurychoosing the Golden Lion.

The contenders are largely auteur films, with the list also including a surprising two non-fiction titles: Rosi's doc about the highway that circles Rome and Oscar-winner Morris' new film about Donald Rumsfeld, the former U.S. secretary of defense.

"Venice on paper takes more risks, for example, taking two documentaries in competitiona first by any festivaland organizing an auteur cinema to support and promote these films," festival director Alberto Barbera told a news conference in Rome.

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The Alfonso Cuaron space thriller Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, was previously announced as the Venice opener. It will screen out of competition, along with films like:

• The Armstrong Lie, American documentarian Alex Gibney's film about disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong.
• Yurusarezaru Mono, a Japanese samurai remake of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven that stars Ken Wantanabe.
• Locke, a 90-minute, director-screenwriter Steven Knight's real-time thriller starring Tom Hardy.
• The Canyons, Paul Schrader's erotic thriller, written by Bret Easton Ellis and starring Lindsay Lohan.
• Palo Alto, a screen adaptation of actor Franco's short stories directed by Gia Coppola, granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola.
• Aningaaq, a new film from Mexican filmmaker Jonas Cuaron, who also co-wrote the screenplay for opener Gravity with his father, Alfonso.

Overall, the festival will screen more than 50 new feature films from more than 30 countries and the majority of which will be world premieres. The film programs also include sections focusing on new trends in filmmaking, shorts and restored classics.