The 62nd Venice Film festival has begun, with George Clooney, Gwyneth Paltrow and Matt Damon among the stars expected to appear in the city.
The festival opened on Wednesday with the Hong Kong martial arts epic Seven Swords and runs until 10 September.
There are 19 films up for competition, including Goodnight and Good Luck directed by Clooney, Paltrow's Proof and Terry Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm.
Security has been tightened in the wake of last month's bomb blasts in London.
Damon will appear in the Italian city to promote The Brothers Grimm, in which he stars.
Other films vying for the prestigious Golden Lion include The Constant Gardener, starring Ralph Fiennes, the Kate Winslet musical Romance and Cigarettes, and Ang Lee's western Brokeback Mountain.
However, film-makers from Spain and Latin America have voiced their displeasure that no titles from their countries are included in the main line-up.
Oscar-winning art director Dante Ferretti chairs this year's competition jury, which includes German director Edgar Reitz and the American producer Christine Vachon.
As she launched her latest movie, The Fine Art of Love - Mine Haha, in Venice, actress Jacqueline Bisset attacked the attitudes of women who "viciously" exploit each other.
"The film is about the exploitation of women, by men and also by women, which is what I find most shocking," she said.
In the Orizzonti (Horizons) section, pop star and actress Bjork makes her big-screen comeback in experimental film Drawing Restraint 9, directed by her husband Matthew Barney.
The Icelandic singer won the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival five years ago but has not acted again until now.
Tim Burton's animated feature The Corpse Bride, Cameron Crowe's romantic comedy Elizabethtown and Russell Crowe's biopic Cinderella Man will screen out of competition.
Italian actress Stefania Sandrelli and the Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki will be presented with special Golden Lion awards.
The festival will close with Perhaps Love, the first musical to be produced in China in 40 years.
Vocabulary:
martial arts: any of several Oriental arts of weaponless self-defense（武术）
in the wake of : （尾随，紧跟）
voice: to give utterance or expression to（发表；讲出）
biopic :（名人传记）
第62届威尼斯电影节开幕了。乔治·克鲁尼、格温妮丝·帕特洛、马特·戴蒙等影坛巨星都将来到威尼斯参加这场电影盛会。
周三，香港武侠巨片《七剑》拉开了威尼斯电影节的序幕，本届电影节将于9月10日闭幕。
共有19部影片参加竞赛单元的角逐，其中包括乔治·克鲁尼导演的《晚安，好运》、帕特洛导演的《证明》以及特里·吉列姆执导的影片《格林兄弟》。
受到上个月发生在伦敦的地铁爆炸事件的影响，本届电影节的安保工作格外严格。
马特·戴蒙将来到这座意大利小城，为他主演的影片《格林兄弟》做宣传。
参加角逐本届威尼斯电影节金狮奖的影片还包括：拉尔夫·费恩斯主演的《不朽的园丁》、凯特·温斯莱特主演的歌舞喜剧《爱情和香烟》，以及李安执导的西部片《断臂山》。
然而，来自西班牙和拉丁美洲的电影制片人和导演纷纷对本届电影节没有本国影片参赛表示不满。
著名电影艺术导演、奥斯卡金项奖得主但丁·费拉提出任本届电影节评委会主席，评委会成员还包括德国导演艾德加·莱茨和美国电影制片人克丽斯汀·娃珊。
杰奎琳·比塞特在威尼斯发布了她的最新力作《爱情的艺术》，同时，她还抨击了影片中所讲述的女性相互之间的恶意利用。
“这部电影描述了女性被男性和别的女性利用，我觉得非常震惊。”她说。
在本届电影节的地平线单元中，世界流行歌坛、影坛两栖明星比约克将复出，在她丈夫导演的前卫实验电影《Drawing Restraint 9》中出演主角。
冰岛歌后比约克曾经在5年前的戛纳电影节上获得最佳女演员，但此后，她再也没有出演过任何影片。
尽管不参加角逐，蒂姆·伯顿的动画片《僵尸新娘》、卡梅隆·克罗威的浪漫戏剧《伊丽莎白镇》和罗素·克劳的名人传记《铁拳男人》都将在威尼斯电影节上映。
意大利女演员斯黛芬妮·桑德雷莉和日本动画导演宫崎骏将在本届电影节上被授予金狮荣誉奖。
中国影片《如果·爱》有幸成为本届电影节的闭幕影片，这是中国40年来拍摄的第一部音乐剧。