NEW FILMS by Terrence Malick, Pedro Almodóvar and Lars von Trier have been included in a strong line-up of contenders for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival next month.
Malick's long-awaited epic The Tree of Life, which was due to premiere at last year's festival but wasn't finished on time, will compete for the headline prize in a field notable for the presence of old Cannes favourites.
It includes Almodóvar's La Piel Que Habito (The Skin I Live In), starting Antonio Banderas as a plastic surgeon bent on exacting vigilante justice and We Need to Talk About Kevin, Lynne Ramsay's adaptation of Lionel Shriver's novel.
Announcing the line-up in Paris yesterday, festival director Thierry Frémaux said the tone was "less sombre" than usual, but the selection committee still found room for Melancholia, the first film by Lars von Trier since the controversial Antichristin 2009.
Le Gamin au Vélo, the latest piece by former winners Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, and Paolo Sorrentino's This Must be the Place– which stars Sean Penn and was filmed in Ireland – are also included.
Having been criticised for an all-male shortlist of directors last year, Frémaux pointed out that four of the 19 films in the running for the Palme d’Or are directed by women. For the second year in a row, only one American film is in the field.
Out of competition, the inclusion of the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, directed by Rob Marshall, and Jodie Foster's The Beaver, starring Mel Gibson, will ensure plenty of jostling photographers and glamour to light up the Croisette.
The festival's opening film is Midnight in Paris,Woody Allen's latest, which stars French first lady Carla Bruni in a minor part. That has given rise to speculation that President Nicolas Sarkozy might turn up at Cannes, but yesterday's news that the festival is to host the premiere of a much anticipated film about Mr Sarkozy himself may keep him away.
Xavier Durringer's La Conquête, based on the build-up to the 2007 presidential election, will appear out of competition, and Frémaux felt obliged yesterday to deny reports that organisers had been put under pressure "to include or exclude" the film.
If Mr Sarkozy doesn’t turn up, at least there is the promise of a rare appearance by the media-shy Terrence Malick. “We’re still trying to explain to him the concept of the press conference,” Mr Frémaux said.