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Al Pacino was among a host of famous actors and film-makers to attend the first weekend of the Venice Film Festival. Pacino attended a screening of the movie version of The Merchant of Venice, in which he stars as Shylock.

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Johnny Depp plays Peter Pan author JM Barrie in Finding Neverland, directed by Mark Forster (centre) and featuring Kate Winslet as Sylvia Llewelyn Davies.

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Shakespeare in Love star Joseph Fiennes takes on another Shakespearean role as Bassanio in the screen adaptation of The Merchant of Venice.

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US actress Lynn Collins, who previously appeared in Down With Love and 13 Going On 30, takes the classical role of Portia in The Merchant of Venice.

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Spanish actor Javier Bardem, who starred in Before Night Falls, was in Venice to promote his latest film Mar Adentro, the true story of a man who fought for his right to die by euthanasia.

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Jeremy Irons, who plays Antonio in the new movie of The Merchant of Venice, arrived at its premiere with his actress wife Sinead Cusack.

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British director Antonia Bird presented her film The Hamburg Cell, which examines the life of a 11 September hijacker. The film was screened on Channel 4 in the UK on Thursday.

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Tom Cruise turned the tables on photographers as he arrived in Venice on Friday as part of an extended promotional tour for new thriller Collateral. The Venice Film Festival ends on 11 September.