NATALIE PORTMAN - PORTMAN TO MAKE DIRECTING DEBUT

Closer actress Natalie Portman is to try her hand at directing after signing a two-year deal with Participant Productions.

Through her Handmadecharlie Films production company, Portman will make her directorial debut with war memoir A Tale of Love and Darkness, reports Variety.

Based on the memoir of Amos Oz, Naomi Foner will script the story of a childhood in war-torn 1940s and 50s Jerusalem.

The young actress told the trade newspaper she chose to sign with Participant due to their reputation for producing intelligent, socially-relevant films, with An Inconvenient Truth and Syriana among their recent releases.

"We all have the same desire to make meaningful and artistically fulfilling films and are committed to the idea of stories leading to greater empathy and action for world issues," she explained.

Participant president Ricky Strauss said that Portman's interest in "projects that entertain and empower" was a central inspiration for the deal.

He added: "She has the heart of an artist and an activist. It just seems like a natural relationship, and we couldn't be more pleased."

The V for Vendetta star will next be seen in The Other Boleyn Girl alongside Eric Bana and Scarlett Johansson, as well as playing opposite Dustin Hoffman and Jason Bateman in Zach Helm's Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium.