PARIS: Cannes Film Festival organisers announced its 2019 line-up Thursday, pitting leading names in world cinema including Ken Loach and Pedro Almodóvar against each other in competition for the top prize, the Palme d'Or.
Festival veterans Loach and Almodóvar, as well as the Dardenne Brothers, Jim Jarmusch, Terrence Malick and Xavier Dolan — all of whom have previously won accolades at the French Riviera festival — will return for the May 14-25 event.
Four female directors were among the 19 nominated in the main category. They are Jessica Hausner for "Little Joe," Mati Diop for "Atlantiques," Celine Schiamma for "Portrait of a Young Lady on Fire" and Justine Triet for "Sibyl."
The last time four women were also nominated at Cannes was in 2011, when that number set a record for the festival. Last year, organisers pledged to raise the prominence of female filmmakers at festivals. A total of 13 women were included in the official selection this year — although male artists still dominate.
Jarmusch's "The Dead Don't Die," a zombie comedy starring Adam Driver, Bill Murray and Chloe Sevigny as police officers protecting a small town, will open the festival on a starry and surreal note.
This is not the first time Jarmusch has competed for the Palme at Cannes using the undead — his 2013 "Only Lovers Left Alive" featured erudite vampires.