Freida Pinto`s `Miraal` in competition at Venice Film Festival

London: Indian actress Freida Pinto starrer `Miraal`, her first project after debuting in the multiple Oscar winning film `Slumdog Millionaire`, is in competition for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

The French film, directed by Oscar nominated director Julian Schnabel, sees the 25-year-old Mumbaikar play the titular character of Miral, a Palestinian orphan. The film an adaptation of Italo-Palestinian author Rula Jebreal`s book, is among the 22 titles vying for the prestigious Golden Lion trophy at the 68th edition of the festival, said a press statement. The book revolves around Hind Husseini, the woman who started the Dar Al-Tifl orphanage in Jerusalem in the wake of the 1948 partition of Palestine and the creation of the state of Israel. Freida plays a teenaged Miral, who after witnessing the effects of the Israeli campaigns chooses to join the struggle in full. The first trailers of the film were released last month and saw Pinto share a kiss with co-star Omar Metwally, who plays an Israeli activist. Pinto shot the film on location in Israel and the Palestinian territories over a period of six months. The actress who is dating her `Slumdog Millionaire` co-star Dev Patel, will also be seen in Woody Allen`s next `You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger` where she stars alongside Josh Brolin, Antonio Banderas and Naomi Watts. She is currently shooting the sci-fi thriller `The Rise Of Apes` opposite James Franco in New York. The festival will be held between Sept 1 and 11. PTI