Cannes contenders
'La piel que habito'
Country United Kingdom
Director: Pedro Almodovar
Cast: Antonio Banderas Elena Anaya
Plot: A surgeon seeks revenge on men who raped his daughter.
'L'apollonide – Souvenirs de la maison close'
Country France
Director: Bertrand Bonello
Cast: Hafsia Herzi Adele Haenel
Plot: The happenings in a Parisian brothel in the 20th century.
'Pater'
Director: Alain Cavalier
Cast: Vincent London
Plot: Little is known about the story line of this film, except that it is likely in a self-reflective, documentary style.
'Hearat Shulayim'
Country Israel
Director: Joseph Cedar
Cast: Lior Ashkenazi, Shlomo Bar-Aba
Plot: The rivalry between a father and son is explored.
'Bir Zamanlar 'Anadolu'da'
Country Turkey
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Cast: Muhammet Uzuner Yilmaz Erdogan
Plot: The film follows a doctor living in Anatolia.
'Le Gamin au velo'
Country Belgium
Director: Dardenne brothers
Cast: Cécile De France
Plot: After being abandoned, a young boy is left with an unfit child care provider.
'Le Havre'
Director: Aki Kaurismäki
Cast: André Wilms Kati Outinen
Plot: A shoe shiner tries to save an immigrant child.
'Hanezu No Tsuki'
Country Japan
Director: Naomi Kawase
Cast: Tôta Komizu, Hako Ohshimo
Plot: Set in the Asuka period.
'Sleeping Beauty'
Director: Julia Leigh
Cast: Emily Browning , Michael Dorman
Plot: An erotic fairy tale about a young college student drawn into a mysterious world.
'Polisse'
Director: Maïwenn Le Besco
Cast: Maïwenn Le Besco Ricardo Scamarcio
Plot: A journalist covering crime falls for one of her sources.
'The Tree of Life'
Director: Terrence Malick
Cast: Brad Pitt Sean Penn
Plot: Tells the science fiction tale of a young boy's life set in '50s Texas.
'La source des femmes'
Country France
Director: Radu Mihăileanu
Cast: Hafsia Herzi , Leïla Bekhti
Plot: The women of a small village threaten to withhold sexual intimacies in this battle of the sexes dramedy.
'Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai'
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Ichikawa Ebizo Eita
Plot: A 3-D reimagining of a 1963 film about an aging samurai who is on a mission to regain his family's honor.
'Habemus Papam'
Country Italy
Director: Nanni Moretti
Cast: Michael Piccoli Nanni Moretti
Plot: Centers on the relationship between a newly elected pope and his therapist.
'We Need to Talk About Kevin'
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Cast: John C. Reilly Tilda Swinton
Plot: The mother of a teenage boy deals with the aftermath of his high school shooting spree.
'Michael'
Director: Michael Schleizner
Cast: Michael Fuith, David Rauchenberger
Plot: Follows the last five months of the lives of a 10-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man.
'This Must Be the Place
Director: Paolo Sorrentino
Cast: Sean Penn Eve Hewson Frances McDormand
Plot: A retired rock star sets out on a mission to find his father's killer, an ex-Nazi.
Melancholia
Director: Lars von Trier
Cast: Kirsten Dunst Keifer Sutherland
Plot: Two sisters struggle with their relationship before a potential demise.
'Drive
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Cast: Ryan Gosling Christina Hendricks Carey Mulligan
Plot: A stuntman must escape a contract on his life after a heist goes wrong.