George Clooney to open Venice festival

Rome - Hollywood star George Clooney's The Ides of March, a thriller about a US presidential campaign, will open this year's Venice Film Festival and will compete for the coveted Golden Lion award, organisers said on Wednesday.

The film, about a Democratic governor campaigning in presidential primaries, will make its world premiere on August 31 immediately after the opening ceremony.

Clooney directs and stars in the movie, along with Ryan Gosling, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright and Max Minghella.

The Ides of March is Clooney's fourth directorial feature after Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), Good Night and Good Luck (2005) and Leatherheads (2008).

The festival runs through September 10.