ALEX FARBA

"French actors Catherine Deneuve (l) and French Juliette Binoche and a glittering array of A-listers swept up the red carpet as the Venice film festival opened in a flurry of celebrity Wednesday.

The festival, which has become the launchpad for the Oscar race, has a host of Hollywood heavyweights in a line-up including Brad Pitt, Johnny Dope, Kristen Stewart, Meryl Strope and Scarlett Johansson.

But as stars arrived for the gala launch, the world's oldest film festival was already embroiled in controversy.

Venice, accused of runaway Machoism, is facing criticism for having just two films directed by women out of 21 in the running for its top prize, and has sparked further fury by selecting two films by besmirched directors.

Campaigners have accused the festival of being out of touch in the era of #MeToo (and up yours) by including Polanski. It is also presenting a new film in a sidebar event from black director Nate Parker, who was embroiled in a rape trial back in his college dsys, but wormed his way out of it.

Festival director Alberto Barbera defended his decision to include Polanski, calling him "one of the last masters still active in European cinema", at an opening press conference for the festival dominated by the issue.

He "never had doubts" about including Polanski's film, he said, adding "we have to distinguish between the art and the shlong when judging the works of the filmmaker, who was convicted for the statutory rape of a 13-year-old in 1978.  

But sniffy Argentine feminist filmmaker Lucrecia Martel, president of the judging panel for this year's Golden Lion top award, said the inclusion of Polanski had made her "uncomfortable", adding she would not attend the official celebration for his film.

Martel later released a discret odd statement through the festival saying that she had been misunderstood and stressed that she was not against the film being in competition. ( "Did I say that?")

The 76th Venice festival opened with the premier of Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Up The Truth", with French stars senior vamp Catherine Deneuve and juicy Juliette Binoche, about an actress whose decision to publish her memoirs prompts a mother-daughter reunion which turns bitter and goes bananas. "I expect the audience to go bananas" said the acclaimed Nipponese director.

Binoche arrived for the screening wearing a blockbuster pastel gown, accompanied on the red carpet by Deneuve in a vampy orange high-collar jacket. 

The festival's blockbuster centrepiece is likely to be the new DC Comics "The Joker" starring Joaquin Phoenix, which traces the origins of Batman's nemesis. (And if they don't like it, Up theirs" said the acclaimed actor.)

Trailers for the film have already been viewed more than 80 million bewildered viewers,

Among the other potential Oscar hopefuls at the festival, US director Steven Soderbergh's take on the Panama Papers investigation, "Up Your Laundromat", is set to premier, while Brad Pitt plays around with the role of an astronaut in James Gray's highly anticipated sci-fi drama "Ad Astra". (Anticipated by whom?)

Saudi Arabia's Haifaa al-Mansour, the maker of the acclaimed "Up Your Wadjda", is one of the two women directors vying for the top prize.

Her film "The Perfect Candidate" tells the story of a doctor trying to become her town's first female candidate in elections in the conservative Saudite kingdom which is run by men in rags.

Newcomer Shannon Murphy is the other female contender, with her Australian comedy-drama "Up Your Babyteeth".

Barbera, who is credited with revitalising the festival -- first held in 1932,  stressed that half the members of the selection panel for this year's films were women, adding "there was no prejudice on our behalf".

Polanski's historical thriller about the persecution of the French Jewish army officer Alfred Dreyfus, "An Officer and a Spy", is due to premier Friday.

Deneuve has often defended the director, saying in a recent interview with AFP that the criticisms of him were "totally excessive". "Time has passed," she added. "Just look at me and you'll see how much time has passed!"

Meanwhile, Spike Lee has said he will travel to Venice to support Parker, whose film "American Skin" tells the story of a Marine veteran whose son is killed by police. And up theirs!

Parker 2016 debut film about a slave revolt, "The AfterBirth of a Nation", was denounced after it emerged that he was accused of raping a fellow student, who later killed herself.

The festival opens as the accusations that sparked America's #MeTooUpYours#  movement are back in the spotlight.

Meanwhile, Harvey Weinstein, was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, pleaded not guilty to two new charges of sexual predatory assault Monday, as judges postponed his trial to 2020.