Heavenly Creatures

Is there anything more lovely than Venice in August? Sun-baked cafes, shimmering waterways and Hollywood beauties as far as the eye can see. The 59th Venice Film Festival kicks off next month and, after Nicole Kidman swept the city off its feet last year, the question is who will be the belle of this year's ball? Salma Hayek and Julianne Moore have both confirmed their attendance and, with films featuring Julia Roberts and Audrey Tautou in the line-up, photographers should have a treat in store when the red carpet rolls out and the tanned legs stretch forth from their limousines. But yards of bronzed skin won't be the only attraction in Italy's most romantic city, opening with Julie Taymor's Frida, starring Salma Hayek as famous Mexican painter Frida Cahlo, the festival's line-up this year is truly a sight to behold. Steven Daldry's The Hours, starring Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep, will be in the running for the coveted Golden Lion, along with the likes of Sam Mendes' The Road to Perdition and, keeping the British end up, Stephen Frears' Dirty Pretty Things and Peter Mullan's The Magdalene Sisters. Showing but not running for the prize will be Steven Soderbergh