MIAMI -- South Florida can't seem to stay out of the international media spotlight for long.

Just as journalists from around the world covering the death of model Anna Nicole Smith began to depart the sunshine state, a new media brigade has arrived.

But the story drawing all the attention is a more positive one.

Friday marks the start of the 24th-annual Miami International Film Festival -- an event that attracts thousands of people to Miami for the chance to see some of the best in world cinema.

Generating a lot of buzz is the film festival's opening-night screening of "Black Book," by director Paul Verhoeven.

Verhoeven and the film's star, Carice van Houten, held a news conference at the Shore Club on Miami Beach Friday morning.

Reporters, film critics and photographers crowded the hotel's outdoor patio for a chance to photograph and speak with the duo.

Verhoeven is no stranger to media attention, having directed "Basic Instinct " with Sharon Stone.

The Dutch director returned to his native Netherlands to film "Black Book."

The film is set in the last days of World War II in Nazi-occupied Holland.

Van Houten plays a Jewish woman who has suffered a devastating loss and decides to seduce a high-ranking Nazis officer for the sake of revenge.

"The film is filled with espionage and double-crossing, where no one can be taken at face value," said Van Houten.

With that said, you'll have to see it to believe it.