It may be the start of 2004 but in aserious case of deja vu, a question mark is still hanging in the air over whowill direct the next Venice Film Festival in seven months' time.

Yesterday (Jan 7), in what can only beinterpreted as a half-hearted compromise, the Venice Biennale's outgoing boardof directors decided at a meeting to extend artistic director Moritz deHadeln's contract by a further three months - keeping him on board until Marchas a consultant to the festival.

The Biennale explained its decision as a"way to guarantee continuity in the Biennale's work" until a newboard of directors and a new artistic director is appointed. According toVenice organisers, a new board should be named within the next month.

The outgoing board's decision to extend DeHadeln's contract by three months means that the Venice Film Festival's wheelswill not grind to a halt in the meantime. It also means that the new boardwill have less pressure to name a new director before March.

Just before Christmas, Italian cultureminister Giuliano Urbani had reassured onlookers that the Venice Biennale, theorganisation that manages the film festival, would usher in a new board ofdirectors and president by January 6th, who would in turn name the festival'snext artistic director soon afterwards.

The need to appoint a new board ofdirectors came on the heels of Urbani's decision at the end of 2003 to pushthrough Parliament a reform of the Biennale's statute.

Despite Urbani's reassurances, however, theBiennale's new board has not yet been named, and the appointment of a newartistic director could still be weeks - or even months - away.

Last month, Urbani publicly thankedBernabe, whom he had appointed in 2002, for "his great sense ofresponsibility and sense of service towards Italy" adding that he would"soon announce the names of the best president for the Biennale and thebest government representative."

Urbani's words, according to the Italian press, leave littlehope that either Bernabe' or De Hadeln will be reappointed.

De Hadeln was appointed in 2002 just fourmonths before the start of the Venice Film Festival.