The 2008 program, which runs from October 29 to November 9, will exceed anything from previous years.

Artistic director Michael Sergi said the festival had expanded considerably with 75 screenings of 41 films from 20 countries and 16 Australian premieres including the opening night film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The romantic comedy has been hailed by critics as one of Woody Allen's sexiest movies.

The festival, now in its 12th year, was rocked earlier this year when the ACT Government withdrew its funding, after its principal advisory body on the arts, the ACT Cultural Council, said it did not meet its criteria.

The chief executive of TransACT, which rescued the festival by providing sponsorship, Ivan Slavich, said, ''This year's festival is set to be the best yet with an amazing range of genres to suit all tastes. There really wasn't too much arm twisting for us to come on board ...''

Acting festival director Simon Weaving said the program had broad international appeal.

''A lot of people think film festivals are avant-garde, difficult films but that is really not the case,'' he said.

''The way I see it the market is like a schoolyard: there are the shiny, wealthy, popular, Hollywood kids at one end who have taken over the playground and at the other end are the emos and Goths, the troubled children.

''The most fantastic thing that has happened in the last 10 years is the rise of what academics call 'national cinema', which I think is the best and most interesting cinema. They are the ones we're looking for; the interesting, intriguing, insightful, quirky kids who occupy most of the middle ground.

''So basically we have the best national cinema from around the world, including Australia.''

The festival will feature eight Australian films including Dying Breed, a horror film set in a Tasmanian forest.