Hollywood film stars and from around the world will be gathering for the star of the 67^th Venice Film Festival.

Darren Aronofsky's new psychological thriller Black Swan, with Natalie Portman, is opening the gala.

Director Quentin Tarantino heads up this year's jury to determine the awards, which includes the main Golden Lion prize, which Aronofsky won in 2008 for The Wrestler.

Some 79 movies are expected to premiere over the festival's 11-day run.

Tarantino said his time in Venice would be work, not play.

"There's a lot of really exciting movies, it's a fantastic line-up," he told the Reuters news agency.

"I've been on a few juries and I love it. It's a joy to me. But it's work. We're not here for vacation," he added.

The gala is opening with an unprecedented triple header. Aronofsky's film will be followed by a screening of Hong Kong directot Andrew Lau's The Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen, which will then lead into a midnight screening of Robert Rodriguez's Machete, starring Jessica Alba.

Director Sofia Coppola's comeback movie, Somewhere, is among the 22 movies being shown in the competition.

Actor and director Casey Affleck will show his documentary, I'm Still Here, abut his brother-in-law actor Joaquin Phoenix's decision to retire in 2008 and reinvent himself as a hip-hop musician.

September 11^th will see the close of the festival, with an adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest, starring Dame Helen Mirren as a female Prospero, along with Russel Brand.