Dozens of movie celebrities and a whole bunch of films from all over the world will gather in Thai capital Bangkok as the "foremost film event in South East Asia" to begin on Sept. 24, said a press conference in Bangkok Monday.

The Bangkok International Film Festival 2009 from Sept. 24 to 30 will showcase about 100 domestic and international movies, with the opening one being Hollywood blockbuster Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, starring Nicolas Cage, directed by Werner Herzog. The closing one, Sawasdee Bangkok, a Thai movie showing the lives of various people in the capital city.

Minister of Culture Teera Slukpetch, who attended the press conference, said the festival will greatly boost Thailand's movie industry and give some inspirations for the kingdom's creative economy.

Two Chinese movies, The Search and Er Dong, and one China/France movie, Petition, will be shown during the week.

On the press conference also came a video clip, presenting some highlights of the festival, featuring a series of events such as red-carpet-walking, seminars and workshops by industry professionals.

The annual event in the last few years has attracted many of biggest names of the industry, including Oliver Stone, Michael Douglas and Jean Claude van Damme.

According to the organizer, Tourism of Thailand and the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand, this year "a fantastic line-up of celebrities" will brace the red carpet, with Jim Belushi and Ving Rhames are among the guest list.

On the sidelines of this festival there is another film event, the first Bangkok International Animation Film Festival. During the sub-festival, scheduled for Sept. 25 to 30, over 40 animations from U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific areas will be shown at the local cinemas and compete for the Feature and Short Animation FilmAwards.

(Xinhua News Agency September 15, 2009)