The 57th Cannes film festival presents 56 films this year, with nine new first film features. This year's lineup most definitely seems to fulfill the aims of this extraordinary pageant of world cinema:
"a mouth-watering menu with an inventive cuisine that is neither too traditional nor too pretentious; a selection that is the most international in the world, open to all film genres and without forgetting the foremost among them - the film lover genre; a selection that is attentive to the arrival of new generations (never overlooking first films), and which reveals true characters; a selection that is sufficiently compact and which combines all the necessary conditions for the films to be hosted and honoured in the great tradition of the Festival de Cannes, and which satisfy the "seizing the best" ambitions of any selector; a daring selection that creates desire, that triggers curiosity, that carries that certain vitality which currently fills film today and gives a hint of the film of tomorrow; a selection that helps these films, cinema, its creators and artists to exist and to continue their work..."

According to Thierry Frémaux there is a new section entitled "Cannes Classics" and the recent addition "Cinema on the Beach" will continue. Altogether 1325 feature films will be part of this year's Cannes market. The increase in feature films is said to be due to the influx of digital technology. However the number of films in competition has decreased to 18 to maintain the festival seal of quality. Only three French films are in the official competition perhaps to compensate for the criticism the 56th festival received last year for being 'too French'.
This year the Cannes selection presents several time honored auteurs as well as new faces. The themes would appear to be comedy, genre films, and several auteurs have anchored their films in historical or political arenas including identity politics. And as usual, its love that makes the world go round, for Cannes has its fair share of 'romance as usual'.


JURY :

Quentin TARANTINO, Président of jury (USA)
Emmanuelle BEART (Actress - France)
Edwidge DANTICAT (Writer - USA)
Tilda SWINTON (Actress - UK)
Kathleen TURNER (Actress - USA)
Benoît POELVOORDE (Actor, screenwriter - Belgium)
Jerry SCHATZBERG (Director - USA)
Hark TSUI (Director - Hong-Kong)
Peter VON BAGH (Critic - Finland)

OPENING (Off Competition): LA MALA EDUCACIÓN (Spain/Pedro ALMODÓVAR)

CLOSING (Off Competition): DE-LOVELY(Irwin WINKLER)

COMPETITION :

WONG KAR-WAI 2046
Olivier ASSAYAS CLEAN
Agnès JAOUI COMME UNE IMAGE
Walter SALLES DIARIOS DE MOTOCICLETA
Hans WEINGARTNER EDUKATORS
Tony GATLIF EXILS
Michael MOORE FAHRENHEIT 9/11
Mamoru OSHII INNOCENCE
HONG SANG-SOO LA FEMME EST L’AVENIR DE L’HOMME
Lucrecia MARTEL LA NIÑA SANTA
Paolo SORRENTINO LE CONSEGUENZE DELL’AMORE
KORE-EDA HIROKAZU NOBODY KNOWS
PARK CHAN-WOOK OLD BOY
Andrew ADAMSON, Kelly ASBURY, Conrad VERNON SHREK 2
Joel COEN, Ethan COEN THE LADYKILLERS
Stephen HOPKINS THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS
Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL TROPICAL MALADY
Emir KUSTURICA LA VIE EST UN MIRACLE


OUT OF COMPETITION :

Raymond DEPARDON 10E CHAMBRE INSTANTS D'AUDIENCES
Terry ZWIGOFF BAD SANTA
Frédéric SOJCHER CINÉASTES À TOUT PRIX
Zack SNYDER DAWN OF THE DEAD
Abbas KIAROSTAMI FIVE
ZHANG YIMOU FLYING DAGGERS
Quentin TARANTINO KILL BILL VOL. 2
Yousry NASRALLAH LA PORTE DU SOLEIL
Jonathan NOSSITER MONDOVINO
Jean-Luc GODARD NOTRE MUSIQUE
Patricio GUZMÁN SALVADOR ALLENDE
Wolfgang PETERSEN TROY

UN CERTAIN REGARD

Léa FAZER BIENVENUE EN SUISSE (debut feature)
Youssef CHAHINE LA RAGE AU CŒUR
Abbas KIAROSTAMI 10 ON TEN
Benoît JACQUOT À TOUT DE SUITE
Sebastían CORDERO CRÓNICAS
Shona AUERBACH DEAR FRANKIE (debut feature)
Jessica HAUSNER HOTEL
Antal NIMROD KONTROLL (debut feature)
Angela SHANELEC MARSEILLE
Ousmane SEMBÈNE MOOLAADÈ
Laure DUTHILLEUL NELLY (debut feature)
Joâo CANIJO NOITE ESCURA
Sergio CASTELLITTO NON TI MUOVERE
YANGCHAO PASSAGES (debut feature)
Jean-Pierre AMÉRIS POIDS LÉGER
Gulshad OMAROVA SCHIZO (debut feature)
Cate SHORTLAND SOMERSAULT (debut feature)
KIM EUI-SUK SWORD IN THE MOON
Atiq RAHIMI TERRE ET CENDRES (debut feature)
Niels MUELLER THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON (debut feature)
Juan-Pablo REBELLA, Pablo STOLL WHISKY