The Cannes Film Festival 2014: Let the competition commence

Opening Title

Grace of Monaco Olivier Dahan 

The story of former Hollywood star Grace Kelly's crisis of marriage and identity, during a political dispute between Monaco's Prince Rainier III and France's Charles De Gaulle, and a looming French invasion of Monaco in the early 1960s... Starring Nicole Kidman, Tim Roth and Frank Langella.

Clouds of Sils Maria Olivier Assayas

At eighteen, Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche) was successful in theatre with MalojaSnake. She played Sigird, an ambitious girl with disorder charm who fascinated and led to suicide Helena, a mature woman. Also starring Chloe Grace Moretz and Kristen Stewart.

Saint Laurent Bertrand Bonello

A French biography drama film co-written and directed by Bertrand Bonello, Saint Laurent is centered on the life of Yves Saint Laurent from 1965 to 1976. The film stars Gaspard Ulliel as the late, famed French fashion designer. The cast also includes Léa Seydoux, Louis Garrel and Jérémie Renier. 

Winter Dream Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Mostly still under wraps, Winter Dream focuses on a hotel owner, a former actor, who leaves his young wife and son as winter approaches. The film is seen by many as a frontrunner for the Palme d'Or, given that Ceylan's been such a favourite at the festival without ever taking the top prize. The has formerly won Best Director for Three Monkeys.

Two Days, One Night Jean - Pierre and Luc Dardenne

The two-time winners of the coveted Palme, the Dardenne brothers, have created a film about a woman who has only one weekend to convince her colleagues they must give up their bonuses in order for her to keep her job. Starring Marion Cotillard.

Mommy Xavier Dolan

A widowed mother struggles with controlling her violent son, but receives a lifeline when an enigmatic neighbour introduces herself into the household. Starring Antoine-Oliver Pilon, Anne Dorval, Suzanne Clement and Patrick Huard. 

Captives Atom Egoyan

Formerly titled Queen of the Night, is an upcoming Canadian thriller film directed by Atom Egoyan and co-written with David Fraser. The film stars Ryan Reynolds as a blue collar father who briefly leaves his daughter unattended in the backseat of his truck while he goes to order pie, and she isn't there when he gets back. Also stars Scott Speedman, Rosario Dawson, Mireille Enos, Kevin Durand and Alexia Fast. 

Goodbye to Language Jean-Luc Godard

The synopsis describing this film is "a story about a talking dog that interferes with the relationship between a man and a woman, who no longer speak the same language". It's a short digital movie starring Héloise Godet, Jessica Erickson, Kamel Abdeli, Richard Chevallier, Alexandre Païta and Zoé Bruneau.

The Search Michel Hazanavichusa

A woman who works for a non-governmental organisation (NGO) forms a special relationship with a young boy in war-torn Chechnya. Filming began last year in Georgia and ended in Paris. Starring Bérénice Bejo, Annette Bening and Maksim Emelyanov.  

The Homesman Tommy Lee Jones

An American western drama film directed by Tommy Lee Jones and co-written with Kieran Fitzgerald and Wesley Oliver, based on a novel of same name by Glendon Swarthout. The film stars Tommy Lee Jones, Hilary Swank, Hailee Steinfeld, William Fichtner and Meryl Streep. 

Still In The Water Naomi Kawase

Representing Japanese art-house movies, the plot here concerns a summer night of traditional dancing, when a 14-year-old boy and his girlfriend attempt to solve the mystery of a dead body found floating in the sea; in the words of the official synopsis, the pair "learn to become adults by experiencing the interwoven cycles of life, death and love."

Mr. Turner Mike Leigh

A look at the life of British artist J.M.W Turner. In private, Turner was a difficult, eccentric figure: Leigh's film examines the last 25 years of his life, as he comes to terms with the death of his beloved father, forms a close bond with a seaside landlady and divides public opinion with his work.

 Jimmy's Hall  Ken Loach

Political activist Jimmy Gralton is deported from Ireland during the country's 'Red Scare' of the 1930s. Written by Paul Laverty and Donal O'Kelly, and starring Barry Ward, Simone Kirby and Andrew Scott.

Foxcatcher Bennett Miller

A psychological drama directed by Bennett Miller (Moneyball) and starring Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo, plus Vanessa Redgrave and Sienna Miller. The film was written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman, and tells the story of Olympic Gold Medal-winning wrestler Mark Schultz (Tatum), who sees a way out from the shadow of his more celebrated wrestling brother, Dave (Ruffalo).

Le Meraviglie Alice Rorvaker

Le Meraviglie, which translates into 'The Wonders', is "set in the Umbrian countryside" and centres on the eldest daughter of a provincial bee-keeping family whose summer is upended by the arrival of a young German boy and local television competition, headed by none other than Monica Bellucci.

Timbuktu Abderrahmane Sissako

Timbuktu is inspired by the true and horrific story of a young unwed couple in the Northern Mali town of Aguelhok who were stoned by death by Islamic extremists in 2012 for the crime of having children outside marriage. 

Wild Tales ​​Damian Shifrona

When announcing the film at a press conference, festival director Thierry Fremaux said that Wild Tales had been chosen to "wake up" festival-goers and provoke strong reactions. It's a compilation of six independent stories apparently hinging on the quest for success in the modern world and the heated emotions it inspires. "Many people get stressed out or depressed," reads the synopsis. "Some burst. This is a film about them." 

Leviathan Andrei Zvyagintsev

Among the most highly regarded Russian filmmakers of his generation, Zvyaginstev's contemporary reworking of the Book of Job, is a 140-minute film described in some reports as an ensemble piece featuring multiple principals. It concerns a battle of wills between a small-time car repairman in coastal North Russia and the corrupt mayor trying to drive him off his land. It stars Alexei Serebryakov, Elena Lyadova Vladimir Vdovichenkov Roman Madyanov and Michael Krichman.