Oliver Stone's George W. Bush inspired drama W will open the 26th edition of the Turin Film Festival.

Turin's organisers also announced today that the film-maker would attend the festival to present the film in its Italian premiere.

W is Stone's third examination of an American Presidency after JFK and Nixon.

The film stars Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men) as the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. The story follows his life from Yale, to the Texas oilfields to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It also stars James Cromwell as George Bush Sr., Ellen Burstyn as Barbara Bush and Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush.

The International Rome Film Festival had also requested W, its organisers disclosed earlier this month, but the production had opted for a London Film Festival premiere.

The detour to Turin shows that the Turin's artistic director and Palme d'Or winner Nanni Moretti has some pull with Hollywood.

The director has lined up a retrospective of Roman Polanski's work, scheduled for the festival's opening weekend. Polanski will also attend.

Last year Moretti slammed the Rome Festival for its invasive stance in the Italian festival calendar between the established Venice and Turin Film Festivals.

Turin runs 21 - 29 Nov and the full line up will be announced Nov 7.


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