Coppola and Ang Lee top draw at Beirut film festival

Legendary US director Francis Ford Coppola and Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee are the star attractions at this year's Beirut International Film Festival.

The festival is due to open today with Coppola attending a screening of his latest production Tetro, the story of two brothers reunited after a 10-year separation.

"This year we have something very special," said Festival Director Colette Naufal.

"We've really jumped very high by having Francis Ford Coppola here as well as a fabulous collection of films from all over the world, from countries as far as Japan and The Netherlands," she said.

Coppola, 70, is a multiple Oscar-winning cinematographer and remains best known for The Godfather.

The festival also hosts acclaimed filmmaker Ang Lee, 65, who will attend the screening of his latest film Taking Woodstock at the closing ceremony on Wednesday next week.

Lee's works include award-winning films Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

The seven-day festival will showcase some 40 international and Arab feature films and documentaries, as well as Arab short films.

The selection is "one of the best in festival history", said Naufal, adding that all 1,300 seats were fully booked for both opening and closing nights.

After a three-year hiatus, the Beirut International Film Festival made a strong comeback in 2006 despite a devastating war between Hezbollah and Israel that summer.

Experimental films are set to make a strong show this year with films that include American director Jim Jarmusch's The Limits of Control, the story of a loner's journey across Spain and his own consciousness.

Another highlight is Dutch filmmaker Coco Schrijber's Bloody Mondays and Strawberry Pies, an exploration of human boredom narrated by John Malkovich.

Arab directors also appear in abundance, with eight full-length features and 15 short films from Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan among other countries in the region. Help, by Lebanese Mark Abi Rached, a film initially banned in the director's homeland, traces the story of a 14-year-old boy who finds a mother-figure in a local prostitute.

Sabine Gemayel's Niloofar tells the tale of a 13-year-old Iraqi girl who goes to great lengths to postpone her first period in an attempt to evade an arranged marriage.

Keep up with the latest business news from the region with the Emirates Business 24|7 daily newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.