Robert De Niro will this evening receive a Crystal Globe forOutstanding Contribution to World Cinema at the 43rd Karlovy Vary InternationalFilm Festival, which opens today.

The actor will be on hand for the opening screening of his latest film, What Just Happened'

Before the festival, De Niro told the local daily Hospodarske noviny that he was planninganother project with Martin Scorsese in the next year or two.

More than 220 films will screen over the nine-day festival.On Thursday, film fans formed queues, in some cases 50-meters-long, before boxoffices opened at 9 a.m. to get tickets to screenings on the opening day.

The greatest interest in homegrown historical thriller Bathory from director Juraj Jakubiskoand What Just Happened'

The Festival artistic director offered little hope for filmgoerswho did not already have an invitation for tonight's opening film.

'There's no chance for ordinary mortals [to gettickets] for this evening's ceremony and the screening afterward,' EvaZaoralova told local daily Mlada frontaDnes. 'Maybe in the past, but now there aren't enough seats even forall the official guests.'

Recently added to the guest list is Russian director NikitaMichalkov, who is taking time off from post-production on Burnt By The Sun 2 to present his Oscar-nominated 12 to festival audiences

Other guests attending the festival include Danny Glover,Nick Nolte, Randy Quaid, Nicolas Roeg and John Sayles. Christopher Lee willreceive the Festival President's Award and hold a master class on July 10.

The festival has no market but has a reputation of being agood venue for renewing contacts. Bavaria Film International, the MatchFactory, and the Rotterdam International Film Festival are all sendingdelegates to the festival. Vincent Maraval of Wild Bunch is among industryguests arriving today.

International producers will be looking to Karlovy Vary as the Czech Audiovisual Producers Association prepares toannounce a new initiative to introduce incentives for filmmakers shooting inthe Czech Republic.

The Czech Ministry of Finance rejected in June a proposal tocreate a 20% rebate. Prague-based service providers such as Stillking Films andCentral Scope are working closely with Czech producers and politicians to makesure the issue is not dropped.