Cannes Competition line-up unveiled

Thierry Fremaux and Gilles Jacob presented the official selections and juries for the upcoming Cannes Film Festival at a press conference in Paris this morning. Fremaux noted that the conference this year came a week early in order to allow for more excitement to build and to give festival goers more time to prepare.

He also noted that neither the Un Certain Regard nor the main competition lineups were complete with a handful of films to be added in the coming days. As previously announced, Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood will open the festival; for the moment there is no closing film mentioned (see full list of films below).

The main competition currently has 16 titles from 13 countries. Among the usual suspects are Nikita Mikhalkov with a follow-up to his Grand Prize winner from 1984, Burnt By The Sun2. Wild Bunch is handling that film internationally. Also in the lineup is Mike Leigh with Another Year, marking his fourth time in Cannes Competition. Bertrand Tavernier also returns for a fourth time with La Princesse De Montpensier.

Also returning to competition berths are Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu with Biutiful – he previously appeared in the Salle Lumiere with Babel – and Rachid Bouchareb with Hors La Loi after last appearing in Cannes with 2006’s Indigenes.

Making his first appearance in the competition is actor-director Mathieu Amalric with Tournee while Doug Liman also appears for the first time with the film about former CIA operative Valerie Plame entitled Fair Game.

Announcing the selection Fremaux noted that this year’s slate had been particularly ornery to put together. “We are happy, satisfied and content with the selection but if was difficult to do and complicated to put in place. We were still watching films last night.”