Frida, the long-awaited biography of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo starring Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas, will open the 59th Venice Film Festival, organizers announced yesterday.
Another attention-grabbing entrant at the Aug. 29-Sept. 8 festival will be Steven Soderbergh's Full Frontal, with an ensemble cast including Julia Roberts and David Duchovny. The festival has two two competitions: Venezia 59, in which 21 films expected to have wide appeal will battle for a Golden Lion; and Countercurrent, with 17 movies considered less mainstream. AP