Among the directors to participate in this year's Cannes Film Festival will be Michael Haneke, Ken Loach, Abbas Kiarostami, Christian Mungiu and Jaques Audiard. Also among the competitors will also be the Egyptian Youssry Nasrallah, with his film Baad El Mawkea (‘After the Battle’). The entry is Egypt's first since Youssef Chahine's Adieu Bonaparte in 1985.

The head of the jury this year is Nanni Morreti, winner of the Palme d'Or in 2001 for his film ‘The Son's Room.’ The jury also includes Palestinian actress and director Hiam Abbas, who had acted in Yosry Nassrala's Bab El Shams (‘The Gate of the Sun’).

Like last year's festival, which opened with Woody Allen's comedy ‘Midnight in Paris,’ this year's festival also opens with humour. The opening film is ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ by Wes Anderson, who is known for his quirky characters, subtle humour and very distinctive personal style.

Veteran French filmmaker Alain Renais, who is now 89 years old, will enter with Vous N'avez Encore Rien Vu (‘You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet’), a loosely-based adaptation of Jean Anoulih's ‘Eurydice.’

This marks his fifth entry in the Cannes Official competition after ‘Hiroshima Mon Amour,’ ‘Stavisky…,’ ‘Mon Oncle D'Amerique’ and ‘Wild Grass.’ Renais, who is known for his fragmented timelines and interest in the theme of memory, has combined theatre and cinema in many of his films.

The Iranian filmmaker Kiarostami is presenting a film set in Japan, which makes it his second film outside his home country. The film, titled ‘Like Someone in Love,’ tells the story of a relationship between a student who finances her studies through prostitution and an elder academic.

Winner of the Palme d'Or in 1997 for his film ‘Taste of Cherry,’ Kiarostami is one of the most established contemporary Iranian filmmakers. His films, highly poetic and realist, combine daily conversations, journeys and contemplations.

Two films from South Korea will also feature in the competition this year: ‘In Another Country’ by Hong Sang-Soo and ‘The Taste of Money’ by Im Sang-Soo.

Hong Sang-Soo is the winner of the Prix Un Certain Regard in 2010 for his film ‘Hahaha,’ while Im Sang-Soo competed for the Palme D'or in 2010 for his film ‘The Housemaid’ in 2010.

Irish social-realist filmmaker Ken Loach, winner of the Palme d'Or in 2006 for ‘The Wind That Shakes the Barley,’ will be competing this year with his film ‘The Angel's Share.’ Loach is known for his political films that reflect his socialist beliefs. It is interesting to note that both he and Kioarostami contributed to ‘Tickets,’ a film made up of three segments all taking place on a train.

Austrian director Michael Haneke, known for his gripping and highly disturbing films, is also competing with ‘Love,’ in which a retired couple of music teachers cope with the wife's stroke. His film ‘The White Ribbon’ has won the Palme d'Or in 2009. The film was screened in Egypt at the Eurofilm Panorama in 2010.

Another ‘Love’ title also from Austria competing is the film by Ulrich Seidl, which is the first part of trilogy entitled ‘Paradise.’ The other consecutive parts are titled ‘Faith’ and ‘Hope.’ 

Palme d'Or winner, Cristian Mungui from Romania will be competing with ‘Beyond the Hills,’ the story of a nun whose childhood friend tries to convince her to leave the convent. He won the Palme d'Or for his bleak and slow-paced film ‘4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days.’  

Jaques Audiard's participating film ‘Rust and Bone,’ starring Marion Cotillard, is based on Caraig Davidson's short story collection with the same title. Cotillard will also be appearing in Renais' film.  Audiard won the Grand Prix at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival for his tough prison drama ‘A Prophet.’ The film was screened in Egypt at the Eurofilm Panorama in 2009.

The Danish Thomas Vinterberg, winner of the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998 for his film ‘Festen’ (‘The Celebration’), is entering this year with ‘The Hunt.’ Vinterberg, along with Lars von Trier, created the Dogme 95 Manifesto in 1995, which laid out rules for a filmmaking style that does not use any special effects, relying solely on acting and theme.

Brazilian fillmaker Walter Salles, known for his film ‘The Motorcycle Diaries,’ will be competing this year with the film ‘On the Road’ based on the novel by Jack Kerouac.

Carlos Reygadas will also be competing for the third time in the Cannes competition with his film ‘Post Tenebras Lux.’ He won the jury prize for ‘Silent Light’ in 2007.

‘7 Days in Havana’ is also one of the festival's most highly anticipated films competing in the Un Certain Regard section. The film is a collaborative effort by seven filmmakers set in the Cuban capital Havana. Each segment takes place on a different day of one week.

 

Official selection: Competition (23 films):

After the Battle (Baad el Mawkeaa) - Dir. Yousry Nasrallah, Egypt

The Angels' Share - Dir. Ken Loach, UK

Beyond the Hills - Dir. Cristian Mungiu, Romania

Cosmopolis - Dir. David Cronenberg, Canada

Holy Motors - Dir. Leos Carax, France

The Hunt (Jagten) - Dir. Thomas Vinterberg

In Another Country - Dir. Hong Sang-soo, South Korea

In the Fog (Im Nebel) - Dir. Sergei Loznitsa, Belorussia

Killing Them Softly - Dir. Andrew Dominik, Denmark

Lawless - Dir. John Hillcoat, New Zealand

Like Someone In Love - Dir. Abbas Kiarostami, Australia

Love (Amour) - Dir. Michael Haneke, Iran

Mud - Dir. Jeff Nichols, Germany

On the Road - Dir. Walter Salles, USA

The Paperboy - Dir. Lee Daniels, USA

Paradise: Love - Dir. Ulrich Seidl, Austria

Post Tenebras Lux - Dir. Carlos Reygadas, Mexico

Reality - Dir. Matteo Garrone, Italy

Rust and Bone - Dir. Jacques Audiard, France

Taste of Money - Dir. Im Sang-soo, South Korea

You Haven't Seen Anything Yet - Dir. Alain Resnais, France

 

Opening Night Film:

Moonrise Kingdom - Dir: Wes Anderson, USA

 

Closing Night Film:

Therese Desqueyroux - Dir. Claude Miller, France

 

Un Certain Regard (20 films):

7 Days in Havana - Dirs. Laurent Cantet, Benicio Del Toro, Julio Medem, Gaspar Noé, Elia Suleiman, Juan Carlos Tabío, Pablo Trapero, ----- Spain

11.25 The Day He Chose His Own Fate - Dir. Koji Wakamatsu, Japan

Aimer a Perdre la Raison - Dir. Joachim Lafosse, Belgium

Antiviral - Dir. Brandon Cronenberg, USA

Beasts of the Southern Wild - Dir. Benh Zeitlin, USA

Confession of a Child of the Century - Dir. Sylvie Verheyde

Despues de Lucia - Dir. Michel Franco

Djeca - Dir. Aida Begic, Bosnia

Gimme the Loot - Dir. Adam Leon, USA

God's Horses (Les Chevaus de Dieu) - Dir. Nabil Ayouch, Morocco

Le Grand Soir - Dirs. Benoît Delépine and Gustave de Kervern, France

La Playa - Dir. Juan Andres Arango, Colombia

Laurence Anyways - Dir. Xavier Dolan, Canada

Miss Lovely - Dir. Ashim Ahluwalia, India

Mystery - Dir. Lou Ye, China

The Pirogue (La Pirogue) - Dir. Moussa Touré, Senegal

Renoir - Dir. Gilles Bourdos, France

Student - Dir. Darezhan Omirbayev, Kazakhstan

Three Worlds (Trois Mondes) - Dir. Catherine Corsini, France

White Elephant (Elefante Blanco) - Dir. Pablo Trapero, Argentina