The three lead actors Wong Lee-Hom, Tang Wei and Leung Kar-wai (from left to right) in the movie Lust, Caution.

Ang Lee's new film Lust, Caution has received an invitation to compete for a Golden Lion award at this year's Venice Film Festival in August, Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post reports.

All the cast members of the film are expected to attend the festival, which begins on August 29.

Earlier reports said the film would not be the festival's opening film since post-production work was not finished yet.

After watching an early un-cut version of the film, sources from Taiwan reveal that the festival's selectors thought Lust, Caution would turn out as another milestone work by Ang Lee. And they thought the film had strong potential to win an award at the festival.

The director is still in New York working on the film's post-production editing. It is expected to be finished by mid-August.

Marco Muller, director of film festival, also expressed strong interest in another Chinese movie entitled The Sun Also Rises, directed by Jiang Wen.

However, Hong Kong-based Emperor Pictures, one of the film's publishers, told Oriental Morning Post that the festival's movie selectors have already watched The Sun Also Rises, but as yet it has not received a formal invitation to compete in the festival.

(CRI.cn June 27, 2007)