The jury of the section, which is dedicated exclusively to first-time directors, picked Class Enemy along with six more films in a competition of entries that came from all over the world.

They have also selected "Zoran, My Nephew the Idiot" (Zoran, il mio nipote scemo), shot and co-produced by the Italian north-eastern region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Slovenia.

Class Enemy is based on a true story. A senior high school student commits suicide. Her suicide triggers a student revolt against the school system and professors.

According to the Slovenian Film Centre (SFC), the events following the revolt portray today's social climate in Slovenia.

"Zoran, My Nephew the Idiot" by Matteo Oleotto is a story of Paolo, an insensible man, and his almost autistic nephew Zoran. After the death of Zoran's parents Paolo becomes his guardian. He wants to get rid of him, but he discovers that Zoran is a master of darts and Paolo wants to exploit this.

"Class Enemy", "Zoran, My Nephew the Idiot" are competing for the prize for the best first feature film of the Venice Film Festival, worth US$ 100,000 (approximately EUR 75,000). They are also competing for the Audience Award of the International Film Critics' Week, worth EUR 5,000.

The Venice Biennale is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year and on this occasion a special project, Venezia 70 - Future Reloaded, has been created.

70 directors from all over the world have been invited to make a short film lasting between 60 and 90 seconds. One of the invitees is Jan Cvitković, the Slovenian director who won the prize for the best first feature film in 2001.