MUMBAI: Oliver Stone's action thriller Savages will open the 8th annual Zurich International Film Festival on 20 September. The Festival runs from 20 to 30 September.

Stone is no stranger to the young Swiss festival, having attended the festival several times earlier, including in 2007, when the Oscar-winning filmmaker received Zurich's lifetime achievement honor, the Golden Eye. This year's Zurich Golden Eye winner is veteran producer Jerry Weintraub, whose credits include the Ocean's Eleven and Karate Kid franchises.

Savages, which also features John Travolta, Benicio Del Toro and Salma Hayek, has earned $46 million domestically for Universal Pictures since its release on 6 July. But international distributors have held back the rollout of the film globally, may be to avoid going head-to-head with this summer's big televised sporting events - the Euro 2012 Soccer Championships and the 2012 London Olympics.

Savages begins its European rollout on 13 September in Russia and continues across Europe through September and October.