A hand-drawn Japanese cartoon, the tale of a clash between native Indians and white settlers in Brazil and a portrayal of Ethiopia's bloody past are favorites to win the Venice film festival's top prize on Saturday.

Italian motorcycling ace Valentino Rossi arrives for the screening of the movie Yuppi Du at the 65th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Friday, Sept 5, 2008. [Photo: Shanghai Daily]

Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway also impressed critics with an unusually dark role, that of a recovering drug addict in Rachel Getting Married, in what has otherwise been seen as a weak selection of 21 movies in the main competition.

Revered Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki charmed viewers with Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, his re-telling of The Little Mermaid fairytale.

"For the first time, the public and critics are in agreement over Miyazaki's being an animation masterpiece," wrote film critic Natalia Aspesi.

Were Miyazaki to walk off with the Golden Lion prize for best film, it would be the fourth year in a row an Asian director had done so.

(Shanghai Daily September 6, 2008)