REUTERS - The annual Venice Film Festival opens on Wednesday on the Lido waterfront and ends on Sept. 8.

Twenty-two movies are in the main competition vying for the Golden Lion prize for best film, and dozens more are being screened and promoted out of competition.

Following are the main competition entries:

1. "Atonement" (Britain/U.S.)

- director Joe Wright, starring Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Vanessa Redgrave, Romola Garai, Brenda Blethyn.

2. "The Darjeeling Limited" (U.S.)

- director Wes Anderson, starring Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Anjelica Huston, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray.

3. "Sleuth" (Britain/U.S.)

- director Kenneth Branagh, starring Michael Caine, Jude Law.

4. "Heya Fawda" (Egypt)

- director Youssef Chahine, starring Khaled Saleh, Mena Shalaby, Hala Sedky, Youssef El Cherif.

5. "Redacted" (U.S.)

- director Brian De Palma, starring Kel O'Neill, Daniel Stewart Sherman.

6. "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (U.S.)

- director Andrew Dominik, starring Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard.

7. "Nessuna Qualita Agli Eroi" (Italy/Switzerland/France)

- director Paolo Franchi, starring Elio Germano, Bruno Todeschini, Irene Jacob.

8. "Michael Clayton" (U.S.)

- director Tony Gilroy, starring George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack.

9. "Nightwatching" (Britain/Poland/Canada/Netherlands)

- director Peter Greenaway, starring Martin Freeman, Emily Holmes, Eva Birthistle, Jodhi May.

10. "En la Ciudad de Sylvia" (Spain)

- director Jose Luis Guerin, starring Pilar Lopez De Ayala, Xavier Lafitte.

11. "In the Valley of Elah" (U.S.)

- director Paul Haggis, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Susan Sarandon.

12. "I'm Not There" (U.S.)

- director Todd Haynes, starring Richard Gere, Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Julianne Moore, Christian Bale, Charlotte Gainsbourg.

13. "The Sun Also Rises" (China/Hong Kong)

- director Jiang Wen, starring Jiang Wen, Joan Chen, Zhou Yun, Jaycee Chan, Anthony Wong.

14. "Help Me Eros" (Taiwan)

- director Lee Kang Sheng, starring Lee Kang Sheng, Yin Shin.

15. "La Graine et le Mulet" (France)

- director Abdellatif Kechiche, starring Habib Boufares, Marzouk Bouraouia, Faridah Benkhetache, Sabrina Ouazani.

16. "Lust, Caution" (U.S./China/Taiwan)

- director Ang Lee, starring Tony Leung, Joan Chen, Tang Wei.

17. "It's a Free World" (Britain/Italy/Germany/Spain)

- director Ken Loach, starring Juliet Ellis, Leslaw Zurek, Kierston Wareing.

18. "L'ora di Punta" (Italy)

- director Vincenzo Marra, starring Fanny Ardant, Michele Lastella, Giulia Bevilacqua.

19. "Sukiyaki Western Django" (Japan)

- director Miike Takashi, starring Quentin Tarantino, Hideaki Ito, Kaori Momoi, Yoshino Rimura.

20. "12" (Russia)

- director Nikita Mikhalkov, starring Nikita Mikhalkov, Mikhail Yefremov, Sergei Garmash, Sergey Makovezkij.

21. "Il Dolce e L'Amaro" (Italy)

- director Andrea Porporati, starring Fabrizio Gifuni, Luigi Lo Cascio, Donatella Finocchiaro.

22. "Les Amours d'Astree et de Celadon (France/Italy/Spain)

- director Eric Rohmer, starring Stephanie Crayencour, Andy Gillet, Cecile Cassel.

Source: Venice Film Festival Web site (www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/)