Hong Kong director Stanley Kwan's Everlasting Regret and Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain are vying for the Golden Lion Award. 

Chinese director Zhang Yimou's latest movie Qian Li Zou Dan Qi (roughly translated as Riding Alone for a Thousand Li) has failed to make the nomination list to many peoples' surprise.

Young Chinese female director Li Yu's film Rosy Cheeks and Ning Ying's Perpetual Mobile have also been nominated for a prize at Venice.

Li Yu's another film This Year's Summer also competed at the Venice Film Festival four years ago.

Other films nominated this year include George Clooney's Goodnight and Good Luck and John Turturro's Romance & Cigarettes.

The festival has a decidedly Asian accent, with Chinese director Tsui Hark's Seven Swords opening the festival and Hong Kong director Peter Ho-sun Chan's Perhaps Love closing it.

It will be held from August 31st to September 10th.

(CRI July 29, 2005)