TEHRAN Nineteen films from 15 countries, including a high-profile far eastern lineup, feature in this year's international competition at the Locarno Film Festival which was to open in Locarno, Switzerland on Wednesday, AFP reported.
Among them "Hotaru", the second feature by Japan's Naomi Kawase, and "Little Cheung" by Hong Kong's Fruit Chan.
The latter director won the Special Jury Prize at Locarno in 1997, and this time turns his focus on the historic handover of Hong Kong from the hands of the British to China three years ago.
Having shifted away from its origins in supporting first- and second-time directors in 1996, the International Competition Section still revolves around a combination of new' and young cinema'.
Meanwhile, Italy's only entry is "Gostanza da Libbiano" by Paolo Benvenuti. Using original court records, the Tuscan director re-enacts a trial for witchcraft held in San Miniato in 1594.
And Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is transposed into 21st century New York in its 44th version of the play, this time by United States director Michael Almereyda and stars Ethan Hawke as Hamlet.
The festival, taking place in this Swiss Italian-speaking town on the shores of Lake Maggiore until August 12, also offers nightly screenings in the vast cobbled Piazza Grande in the heart of the town.
Seating about 7,500 people, the Piazza open-air screenings offer for many non-mainstream directors one of the few occasions when their work is viewed by a large mainstream audience.
Here two of the most-eagerly awaited films, "Hollow Man" by Dutch director Paul Verhoeven and "The House of Mirth" by British director Terence Davies will be screened.
Davies's film is a Romantic adaptation of a novel by U.S. writer Edith Wharton. The story is starring Gillian Anderson.
Festival organizers also offer an extensive retrospective of Soviet films from 1926 to 1968.