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Rome -- The Venice Film Festival said Monday that it would dedicate this year's edition to Egyptian director Youssef Chahine, who died July 27 at the age of 82.

Chahine, whose crime drama "Heya fawda" (Chaos) screened in competition in Venice last year, was co-winner of the festival's Unesco award in 2002 for his work on the controversial film "11'09'01 -- September 11."

It is the second major homage to Chahine since his death: the just-completed Locarno Film Festival also paid a tribute to the director with a Piazza Grande screening of his historical romance "Al Massir" (Destiny), which had first screened at the same venue in 1997.

In Venice, the tribute film will be "Bab el hadid" (Cairo Station), a 1958 classic Chahine both starred in and directed. The film will screen on Aug. 31, at midnight.

The 65th edition of the Venice Film Festival runs Aug. 27-Sept. 6.

Venice International Film Festival

Misr International Films

VENICE, Italy -- The French and Egyptian co-production Chaos aspires to relate the difficulties of socially deprived citizens in an old cosmopolitan section of Cairo but it is so broadly drawn that it's hard to tell if it's meant to be serious or a lampoon.

Directed colorfully by Youssef Chahine and Khaled Youssef, the film, screened in competition at the Venice International Film Festival, tells of a brutally corrupt police officer named Hatem (Khaled Saleh) who lusts after pretty young teacher Nour (Mena Shalaby) and goes to all extremes to win her over.

Nour, however, is in love with handsome district attorney Sherif Youssef El Sherif) and wants nothing to do with the vile and overbearing cop. Scene after scene demonstrates the scale of Hatem's corruption, the torture he suffers from his unrequited love and the terror he metes out in frustration.

But sequences that seem as if they should be taken seriously, including brutality and torture, lead to romantically slight episodes that could come from an over-the-top soap opera. The young players are awkwardly starry eyed while Saleh plays the buffoon villain like a cartoon character.

Like many places, Egypt suffers from social upheaval and there is no doubt that it deserves filmmakers to bring its troubles to the world's attention. But it's doubtful that this picture will get the job done and boxoffice potential appears slim.

CHAOS

Misr International Films

Credits:

Directors: Youssef Chahine, Khaled Youssef

Writer: Nasser Abdel Rahman

Producers: Gabriel Khoury, Rachid Bouchareb

Director of photography: Ramsis Marzouk

Production designer: Hamed Hemdan

Music: Yasser Abdel Rahman

Costume designer: Monia Fath El Bab

Editor: Ghada Ezzedine

Cast:

Hatem: Khaled Saleh

Nour: Mena Shalaby

Sherif: Youssef El Sherif

Wedad: Hala Sedky

Bahia: Hala Fakher

Running time -- 124 minutes

No MPAA rating...