Natalie Portman’s inclusion in the short film competition at the Venice film festival has become a major headache for organisers, the press and the actress herself.

A sideline competition normally overlooked by many of the hundreds of journalists and cameramen in Venice each year, the shorts section suddenly became big news when Portman was included and good enough to come to the canal city to talk about her directorial debut “Eve”.

The trouble is, organisers were not ready for the press scrum that greeted the 27-year-old’s arrival, partly explained by the fact that she was in town when there was a dirth of stars generally to keep the celebrity-obsessed media happy. When she accepted an award at the Hotel Des Bains, cameramen jostled hard for position, and Portman looked taken aback by the frenzy.

The next day at a more orderly photo shoot, snappers who traditionally shout loudly to get a star’s attention were told to keep the noise down to avoid unnerving Portman. Stars enjoy a lot of privileges, and putting up with publicity is part and parcel of that life, but it was hard not to feel sorry for Portman.