David Cronenberg's new film, Eastern Promises, is to open the 55th San Sebastian Film Festival, which runs Sept 20-29. The Spanish festival will close with Michael Radford's Flawless, a heist film starring Demi Moore and Michael Caine, playing out of competition.

Paul Auster - who is to chair the official jury - will be showing his new directorial effort The Inner Life Of Martin Frost, out of competition.

Eastern Promises, which will compete in San Sebastian, sees Cronenberg reunited with Viggo Mortensen, who took the lead in the Canadian director's acclaimed last film A History Of Violence. Naomi Watts and Vincent Cassel co-star in the thriller set among the Eastern European gangs running London's organised crime world. The film will have its world premiere as a gala in Toronto and will also open the London Film Festival after San Sebastian.

Flawless, from Il Postino and The Merchant Of Venice director Radford, offers a contrasting view of crime in the UK capital, with Moore and Caine joining forces in the 1960s to attempt the perfect diamond robbery.

The Inner Life Of Martin Frost is the second full directorial outing from Auster, the highly-praised author of novels including The New York Trilogy and The Brooklyn Follies. The story follows a successful novelist who meets a mysterious muse.

Also in official selection out of competition is new documentary Earth, BBC Worldwide's new feature. Directed by Deep Blue creator Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, and narrated by Patrick Stewart, the film charts natural life across the planet through all four seasons, observing animal behaviour and the impact of climate change.

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