Brad Pitt to open Moscow film fest with World War Z

Moscow: Hollywood actor Brad Pitt will open the 35th Moscow International Film Festival (MIFF) with his highly-talked about apocalyptic movie World War Z, which was recently premiered in New York. This would be Pitt's first visit to the Russian capital. So it will be the center of attention on the red carpet of the Oktiabr Theater on Thursday.

The actor will arrive in Moscow without partner Angelina Jolie, who was with Pitt, however, at the London premiere of the film, making her first public appearance after undergoing a preventive double mastectomy to ward off breast cancer. In World War Z, a world war that humans find they must fight against zombies, Pitt, a UN official, faces a dilemma: either save the world or his own family.

Also expected to appear at the film fest is Gerard Depardieu, who was granted Russian citizenship early this year and will close the competition with the Russian-French TV coproduction "Rasputin." Competing in the official program are 16 films from around the world, many the work of fledgling directors.

The Moscow International Film Festival is one of the world's oldest, screening for the first time in 1935, though it has only been held annually since 1995. The festival will be held between 20 and 29. (IANS/EFE)