Unspoling between Aug 17-24 in Haugesund, the 35th Norwegian International Film Festival will be opened by Norwegian culture minister Trond Giske and the world premiere of Norwegian director Petter Naess' Gone by the Woman.

It will show a programme focusing on Nordic and European cinema, with two-thirds of the selection having European ties, and the New Nordic Films market boasting more 30 recent Scandinavian features.

Still the the line-up announced today has entries from 27 countries, as programme director Hakon Skogrand pointed out.

A total of 100 films will screen in the main programme, the Children's Film Festival, and sidebars such as Digressions (pick-ups from other festivals), Cinema Italia, Critics' Week and Videorama.

US screen legend Lauren Bacall and UK actor Brian Cox, both shooting UK director Robert Young's Wide Blue Wonder on Haugesund locations, will attend the festival, to be joined by UK singer-actress Marianne Faithfull, due for the closing gala, UK director Sam Garbarski's Irina Palm.

Other international guests include Swedish director Roy Andersson, Danish director Bille August, Italian actresses Laura Morante and Maria de Medeiros, German director Stefan Ruzowitzky and his lead actor, Karl Markovics, and their fellow countrymen, Clemens M Schoenborn and Iren Reppen.

The festival's main programme also includes Romanian director Christian Mungiu's Golden Palm winner, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days; US director David Lynch's Inland Empire; Chinese director Zhang Yimou's Curse of the Golden Flower; Russian director Andrei Zvyagintsev's The Banishment; and UK directors Michael Winterbottom's A Mighty Heartr, Julian Jarrold's Becoming Jane and Shane Meadows' This Is England.

For the 25th time organised in Haugesund, the festival is preceded by the Amanda Awards ceremony - the national film prizes where Bacall will be honoured with an honorary trophy - at a TV2-televised gala from the Festiviteten Concert Hall on Aug 16.

Two features have both received four nominations, including Joachim Trier's Reprise, Erik Richter Strand's Sons Reprise and Sons will compete in the same categories: Best Film, Best Director, Best Supporting Role, and Best Script.

Marius Holst's Mirush was nominated for Best Film (Hummelvoll) and Best Director. Stefan Faldbakken's Uro is considered for Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Role. Other nominees include Bard Breien's The Art of Negative Thinking, Roar Uthaug's Cold Prey, Eva F Dahr's Mars & Venus and Hisham Zaman's Winterland.

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