The 69th Venice International Film Festival, organized by La Biennale di Venezia, kicks off on the 28th August and will run at Venice Lido till 8th September 2012. Directed by Alberto Barbera, the festival aims to raise awareness and promote various aspects of international cinema in all its forms: as art, entertainment and as an industry. The spirit of the festival - freedom and tolerance - will reflect through the various in-competition, out-of-competition and retrospective selections. Mira Nair's latest film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, based on Mohsin Hamid's bestseller book will open the festival and make her the first Indian to open the festival.  The major figures competing for the Golden Lion at the festival include Terrence Malick, Brian de Palma, Takeshi Kitano and Olivier Assayas. Director Spike Lee will also be honoured at the festival for his contribution to world cinema through his films which are often corrosive, and force us to re-think our prejudices. Spike Lee will also premiere his latest documentary on Michael Jackson, 'Bad 25', at the festival. The festival also includes retrospectives and homages to major figures as a contribution towards raising awareness of the history of cinema. The Venice Film Festival, which started in 1932, as a part of the Venice Biennale is one of the oldest film festivals in the world.

A complete line up of competetion films at the festival -

To The Wonder – Terrence Malick (U.S.)

Something in the Air – Olivier Assayas (France)

Outrage:Beyond – Takeshi Kitano (Japan)

Fill The Void – Rama Bursztyn and Yigal Bursztyn (Israel)

Pieta – Kim Ki-duk (South Korea)

Dormant Beauty – Marco Bellocchio (Italy)

E’ stato il figlio – Daniele Cipri (Italy)

At Any Price – Ramin Bahrani (US, UK)

La Cinquieme Saison – Peter Brosens, Jessica Woodworth (Belgium, Netherlands, France)

Un Giorno Speciale – Francesca Comencini (Italy)

Passion – Brian De Palma (France, Germany)

Superstar – Xavier Giannoli (France, Belgium)

Spring Breakers – Harmony Korine (US)

Thy Womb – Brillante Mendoza (Philippines)

Linhas de Wellington – Valeria Sarmiento (Portugal, France)

Paradise: Faith – Ulrich Seidl (Austria, France, Germany)

Betrayal – Kirill Serebrennikov (Russia)