- guardian.co.uk, Tuesday April 19 2005 14.19 BST
Cannes: this year several previous winners are in competition
Films by previous Palme d'Or winners Lars Von Trier, Wim Wenders and Gus Van Sant will be screened in competition at the Cannes festival. Manderlay, the Danish director's follow-up to Dogville; Wenders' Don't Come Knockin', the portrait of an ageing cowboy star played by Sam Shepard, and Van Sant's Last Days, a drama about a rock star are among the films that will compete for the top prize.
The festival opens on May 11 with Lemming, by French director Dominik Moll. He won international acclaim five years ago with his thriller Harry, He's Here to Help.
Several other Cannes favourites are included in the 20 films in competition this year. David Cronenberg will present A History of Violence, a thriller about a father who commits a murder in self-defence. Belgian brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne will show The Child.
This year's festival will feature movies from 13 countries, including Israel, Iraq, China, Taiwan and Japan. Only one British film will be on show this year, albeit out of competition: Chromophobia, a psychological drama written and directed by Martha Fiennes. Her brother Ralph co-stars alongside Penélope Cruz and Ben Chaplin.
The Sarajevo-born director Emir Kusturica, who has twice won the Palme d'Or, is heading this year's jury. The jury will also consider the directorial debut of actor Tommy Lee-Jones, called The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, about a Texan ranch-hand's promise to bury his friend in his native Mexico.
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and Woody Allen's latest picture, Match Point, will be shown outside competition.
The festival runs May 11-21.
