Cannes Festival celebrates 70th edition

The Cannes Film Festival, the world's premier film event, will open on May 17 with "The Ghosts of Ismael," the latest film by French director Arnaud Desplechin and an opening ceremony hosted by luminaries Monica Bellucci and Pedro Almodovar.

This year Cannes Jury consists of German filmmaker and screenwriter Maren Ade, whose "Toni Erdmann" won the FIPRESCI prize in the last edition of the festival; American actress Jessica Chastain; Chinese actress Fan Bingbing; French actress, screenwriter and director Agnes Jaoui; South Korean director Park Chan-wook; American actor, producer Will Smith; Italian director, screenwriter Paolo Sorrentino and French composer Gabriel Yared, who will act under the direction of Almodovar.

The opening film by Desplechin is not in the competition lineup, but France retains a strong place in the 19-film competition with four entries. Among the four competing French directors, there is Jacques Doillon ("The Prodigal Daughter," "The Little Gangster" and "The Pirate"), François Ozon ("See the Sea," "Under the Sand," "Swimming Pool," "Young and Beautiful," "8 Women" and "Frantz"), Michel Hazanavicius (Oscar-winning "The Artist") and Robin Campillo, a Moroccan-origin editor, screenwriter and director who wrote the dialogue for "The Class," which won a Golden Palm in previous years. 

Doillon comes to Cannes with his new pic "Rodin" based on the life of the famous sculptor. Ozon's "L'amant Double" and Hazanivicius' "Redoutable" as well as Campillo's "120 Beats per Minute" are among the pictures highly anticipated by French critics.

Europe's domination

European pics will be in abundance at the competition, with 11 of the 19 films on offer coming from European directors. The United States...

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