With the prestigious Golden Lion to be awarded on Saturday, Ford's film about a gay professor mourning the death of his partner shares the last word with the Philippines' Brillante Mendoza's "Lola" and Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael's "Mr. Nobody."

The jury headed by Taiwan's Ang Lee will award Golden Lions for best film, best actor and best actress from among 25 contenders on Saturday.

Ford's adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's landmark 1964 novel is a moving snapshot of life as a homosexual more than four decades ago, at the time of the Cuban missile crisis.

Eight months after gay English professor George Falconer (Colin Firth) loses his longtime partner in a car accident, he sees no point in continuing to live.

A student whose homosexuality is "invisible" like his notices his melancholy and brings him back to the here and now.

"One of the things I always loved about Christopher Isherwood... is that he always has gay characters because he was gay, but you never see the gay character struggling with his homosexuality or being tortured by it," Ford said.

"It's just a character going through life, and I loved that matter-of-fact depiction of life," the former Gucci designer told AFP.

He added: "I didn't want this to be a 'gay film.' It's a universal film, about love and connection... The character happens to be gay, so what?"

Making "A Single Man" was "was very pure for me, a pure expression, probably the most personal thing I've ever done," he said.

An especially strong selection for the 66th Mostra has divided critics, making for a crowded field of front-runners for the Golden Lion.

Both Italian and foreign critics have given high marks to "Lebanon" by first-time director Samuel Maoz, shot from inside an Israeli tank, Todd Solondz's dark comedy "Life During Wartime", and German director Jessica Hausner's "Lourdes" about miracle healing.