Brazil's House Of Sand, the UK's Mrs Henderson Presents and South Korea'sSympathy For Lady Vengeance are amongthe 12 films that have been selected for the international competition sectionof this year's Bangkok International Film Festival (Feb 17-27).

Four Golden Kinnaree awardswill be given out for best film, best director, best actor and best actress inthe international section.

Pen-ek Ratanaruang'spsychological thriller Invisible Wavesopens the 11-day festival on Feb 17 and is also part of the competitionline-up.

In the ASEAN section, RiriRiza's Gie, Woo Ming Jin's Monday Morning Glory, Joko Anwar's Joni's Promise, Rithy Panh's The Burnt Theatre and Han Yew Kwang's Unarmed Combat are among some of the newfilms from the 10 ASEAN countries vying for the best ASEAN film award.

Other competition sections includenew voices open to first or second-time directors, international documentariesand Asian short films.

The awards gala will be heldon Feb 24 at the Conrad Hotel. Chris Columbus' revolutionary rock opera Rent will close the festival on Feb 27.

BKKIFF, launched in 2003 bythe Tourism Authority of Thailand, runs in parallel with the Bangkok FilmMarket (February 20-24). This year, both events will take place at the new $380m(15 billion baht) shopping and entertainment complex Siam Paragon which openedits doors in downtown Bangkokonly last month.

Festival and marketscreenings will be held in the new complex's 15-screen mega multiplex, built byThailand's leading exhibitor Major Cineplex and set to be fullyoperational for the event.

BKIFF international competition:

The Consequences Of Love (Italy)
Dir: Palo Sorrentino

House Of Sand (Brazil)
Dir: Andrucha Waddington

Invisible Waves (Thailand)
Dir: Pen-Ek Ratanaruang

Istanbul Tales (Turkey)
Dirs: Umit Unal, Kudret Sabanci, Elim Demirdelen, Yucel Yolcu & Omur Atay

Mrs. Henderson Presents (United Kingdom)
Dir: Stephen Frears

Ringfinger(France)
Dir: Diane Bertrand

River Queen(New Zealand/ United Kingdom)
Dir: Vincent Ward

Sympathy For Lady Vengeance (South Korea)
Dir: Chan-wook Park

Transamerica(USA)
Dir: Duncan Tucker

Tsotsi (South Africa / United Kingdom)
Dir: Gavin Hood

Water (Canada / India)
Dir: Deepa Mehta

The White Masai (Germany)
Dir: Hermine Huntgeburth

ASEAN competition:
3 Friends (Thailand)
Dirs: Mingmongkol Sonakul, Pumin Chinaradee, Aditya Assarat

Bride Of Silence (Vietnam / Germany / Australia)
Dir: Doàn Minh Phuong, Doàn Thanh Nghia

The Burnt Theater (France / Cambodia)
Dir: Rithy Panh

Gie (Indonesia)
Dir: Riri Riza

Goalposts & Lipsticks (Malaysia)
Dir: Bernard Chauly

The Gravel Road (Malaysia)
Dir: Deepak Kumaran

Joni's Promise (Indonesia)
Dir: Joko Anwar

Journey From The Fall (Thailand/ USA / Vietnam)
Dir: Ham Tran

Magdalena: The Unholy Saint (Philippines)
Dir: Laurice Guillen

The Masseur(Philippines)
Dir: Brillante Mendoza

Monday Morning Glory (Malaysia)
Dir: Woo Ming Jin

Unarmed Combat (Singapore)
Dir: Han Yew Kwang