Cate Blanchett is being tipped for Oscar glory with her extraordinary performance as singer Bob Dylan in new film I'm Not There.

She is one of six actors who portray different aspects of Dylan in director Todd Haynes' unconventional film.

The singer has given his blessing to the project.

Heath Ledger, Richard Gere, British talents Christian Bale and Ben Whishaw, and black child actor Marcus Carl Franklin also play the legendary singer.

Blanchett plays "Jude", a representation of Dylan in the mid-Sixties when he was becoming an international star.

The film is in competition at the Venice Film Festival and critics were astonished by Blanchett's performance.

Haynes said: "Jude was always meant to be played by a woman. I felt it was the only way to resurrect the true strangeness of Dylan's physical being in 1966, which I felt had lost its historical shock value over the years.

"But of course it would take an actor of Cate's supreme intelligence and ability to bring to the role the kind of depth and subtlety she delivers so stunningly on screen."

He added: "Cate was scared, she told me many times that this was a very scary challenge for her. It took her a long time to commit to it, she's a very busy actress and had to balance it with her schedule but mostly I think it was due to fear, which is completely understandable.

"I told her it's good to be terrified, that you're taking a risk and sometimes that's really when the surprises happen. I guess it at least convinced her to give it a shot."

Dylan has given his blessing to the film, Haynes said: "There have been documentaries but this is the first dramatic film about his life which he has ever given his consent to.

"I do think it was because of this open structure, something that would keep extending who he is and what he is about and not reducing it, which I think is the nature of a traditional biopic. It just seemed impossible to do that with someone as complex and contrary as he is.

"He has a tremendous sense of humour about the way he has been characterised. I think that's a really healthy attitude and he saw something similar in this film."

Haynes said of the film's unusual structure: "The way we look back on our own lives is in fragments. Music is a way that we do time travel, that unlocks moments in our past. The best and most enjoyable way to watch the film is to let it wash over you like a dream."

Gere described the script as "bizarre" but said he jumped at the chance to play such an icon.

"I think Dylan is probably the only artist in our time who will still be considered 200 or 300 years from now. It's not Picasso, it's Bob Dylan," he said. "No one has had more effect on the world of art."

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