George Clooney and Brad Pitt were on the red carpet in Rome for the launch of the Venice Film Festival.

The 67th edition will feature world premieres by directors Sofia Coppola and Darren Aronofsky.

Twenty-three movies will compete for the top Golden Lion award at the world's oldest film festival, with Quentin Tarantino heading the jury that will pick the winner.

Other famous faces at the event included Natalie Portman and Mickey Rourke.

The festival, which has a budget of 12 million euros and often serves as a launching pad for the Oscar awards, runs September 1-11.