"It is a film that the selecting committee has unanimously considered, in terms of emotive and visual power, to be even greater than some of the major films of many confirmed directors."

Atonement is already being tipped as an Oscar contender and its selection for Venice will boost its chances.

Previous winners include Brokeback Mountain and Mike Leigh’s Vera Drake.

Keira will be in Venice for the world premiere of the film on August 29.


Director asks for sexier Keira - June 4 2007
Keira Knightley might already be considered a sex symbol, but her latest director said he set out to increase her raunch factor.

The 22-year-old actress - who performed a lap dance in 2005 film Domino - will soon be seen on screen in the adaptation of Ian McEwan novel Atonement.

And Joe Wright the film’s director, told the Daily Express that he wanted to change people’s perception of her.

"I wanted to cast Keira as a woman, a sexual character," he said. "She’s only ever played girls before, even in Pride And Prejudice.

"There is an important scene with James McAvoy where she dives into a deep fountain to retrieve a broken vase. Keira emerges from the water and stands on the fountain’s edge. It was her idea to stand there for so long - but I quite liked it."

And it seems Keira took to her new characteristics rather well.

"There was another shot of her from behind but we left that out as it seemed a bit too rude," said Joe.


Keira not a fan of the rain - May 24 2007
Keira Knightley says she enjoyed filming underwater for the latest Pirates Of The Caribbean movie, because it was better than the scenes where she was stood in the rain.

The 22-year-old is making her third outing as Elizabeth Swann in At World’s End, which opens on May 24.

In the latest film there is a dramatic fight shot almost entirely in the rain, and the English actress reveals she felt much more comfortable while fully immersed in the water.

"I really liked it," she said. "I liked the underwater stuff a lot more than just being wet in windy conditions, which is actually what we were doing when we were on the beach, or most of the filming.

"I mean the final fight is just all rain, so I’m not quite as keen on that as I am on just being underwater. You stay warm, it’s like 80 degrees in the water and it’s great - swim down, hold your breath, swim back up again.

"But this whole being wet for like five weeks - which is what we’ve been - is quite challenging."

Keira’s ’ugly lips’ - May 15 2007
Keira Knightley has revealed magazines have refused to use her as a cover girl because she had "ugly lips".

The Pirates Of The Caribbean star, who is back on the big screen in the final instalment later this month, said she had been "hurt" by the comments.

"I’ve been told by magazines that they didn’t want to run my picture on the cover because I have ugly lips. Even though I don’t want to care, it does hurt when people talk about you in a bad way," she told the Daily Mirror.

The 22-year-old - who’s repeatedly made a string of sexiest women lists - has spoken out about the pressures to look perfect in Hollywood, as well as hitting out at accusations that her slender figure is the result of an eating disorder.