German, 29, the son of an established filmmaker, came into the festival's spotlight two years ago, when his debut picture, The Last Train, earned him a special mention from the competition jury.
The 62nd Venice Film Festival opens Wednesday, with the Chinese martial arts epic Seven Swords. After the screening, some of China's most beautiful actresses, escorted by cardboard dragons, will walk down the red carpet to the Hotel Excelsior, where a gala dinner, celebrating Chinese cuisine, will be thrown for thousands of VIP guests.
The 11-day festival program, unveiled to reporters by Artistic Director Marco Mueller, will traditionally consist of four sections: Venezia (competition), Out of Competition, Orrizzonti (or Horizons, a section providing a platform for new trends in cinema), and Corto Cortissimo (a competition for short films).
There are 19 films up for competition, including Goodnight and Good Luck directed by George Clooney, John Turturro's Romance and Cigarettes, Terry Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm, and Krzystof Zanussi's Persona Non-Grata, where the Russian Oscar-winning actor and director Nikita Mikhalkov appears in one of the lead roles.
Features by established filmmakers such as Emir Kusturica, John Woo, and Ridley Scott will screen out of competition.
The jury, chaired by Oscar-winning art director Dante Ferretti, has decided to confer this year's Golden Lion for lifetime achievement on Italian veteran actress Stefania Sandrelli. Explaining the decision, Feretti said she "has been in the movies for 45 years-although one would never guess, looking at her. [Throughout her career,] she has epitomized femininity and intellectuality in the Italian cinema."
