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South Korean director Kim Ki-duk told AFP in an interview before winning best movie at the Venice festival on Saturday that his "Pieta" was a new start in his unusual career that began with no film training.

South Korean director Kim Ki-duk told AFP in an interview before winning best movie at the Venice festival on Saturday that his "Pieta" was a new start in his unusual career that began with no film training.

Movies from France, South Korea and the United States are tipped by critics as the favourites to win this year's Golden Lion award at the Venice film festival due to be announced later on Saturday.

Movies from France, South Korea and the United States are tipped by critics as the favourites to win this year's Golden Lion award at the Venice film festival due to be announced on Saturday.

Arab cinema is witnessing a new wave of creativity in the wake of the Arab Spring revolts, said directors at the Venice film festival where some of the emerging talent from the region was on show.

Internationally-acclaimed directors Takeshi Kitano from Japan and Kim Ki-duk from South Korea told AFP at the Venice film festival that making art house films in Asia is a daunting task.

French DJ Bob Sinclar told AFP he was delighted to be on a jury at the Venice film festival even though the author of hits "Love revolution" and "World Hold On" had to cancel an Ibiza gig to come.

The Venice film festival kicked off an art house dominated line-up on Wednesday with a thriller by Mira Nair about a Pakistani man torn between East and West after the September 11 attacks.

The Venice film festival kicks off on Wednesday with the arrival of stars on water taxis for an art-house dominated line-up dealing with issues from religious extremism to economic crisis.

The Venice film festival kicks off on Wednesday with the arrival of stars on water taxis for an art house dominated line-up dealing with issues from religious extremism to economic crisis.

When the French seized Casablanca in the early 1900s, they turned the historic Morrocan port into a classic of colonial architecture that would be immortalised in the 1942 namesake film.

Italian film documents trauma of Iraq war veterans, US military's response. A new documentary being shown out of competition at the Venice Film Festival explores the trauma of three U.S. war veterans who served in Iraq and how the military handled their cases.

With his dark comedy "A Sad Trumpet Ballad," screened Tuesday at the Venice film festival, Alex de la Iglesia said his aim was to "exorcise" the enduring pain of the Spanish Civil War.

Downtown Little Rock thriving 5 years after Clinton Presidential Library opens. When Bill Clinton marks the fifth anniversary of his presidential library, his 1,000 or so guests will be safe from the elements.