A political thriller will open the 69th Venice Film Festival on Aug. 29th.

“The Reluctant Fundamentalist” by Indian director   Mira Nair will be making it’s world premier in Venice.

The film is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Pakistani writer  Mohsin Hamid.

It follows a Pakistani  man working on Wall Street who is caught between his professional aspirations, a hostage crisis and his loyalty to his native country.

Nair is based in New York.  She has had  four films screened at the Venice festival, including “Monsoon Wedding,”  which won the Golden Lion in 2001.

The rest of the lineup for the festival, to run Aug. 29 to Sept. 8, will be announced later this week.