The 2012 Cannes film festivalis here, marking the 65th anniversary for one of the world’s most venerated film festivals and markets. Check out our preview of what’s being showcased as it runs from the 16th to the 27th of May.

The opening film for this year was Wes Anderson’sMoonrise Kingdom – another slice of pathological quirkiness from the director. The film tells the story of a pair of precocious (naturally) children who run away together and prompt a massive search operation. You’ll find Anderson regulars on board including Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman as well as turns from Bruce Willis and Edward Norton. Early reviews are strong but then, given the context, they would be. It hits cinemas here on the 25th of May.

In a festival littered with rather more mainstream releases than usual, another highlight includes the chance to see Killing Them Softly – the long awaited third film from Andrew Domink, who crafted the impeccable The Assassination of Jesse James in 2007. The film stars Brad Pitt (again) alongside James Gandofini, Ray Liotta, Sam Shepard, Richard Jenkins and more in a film about a mob enforcer who gets involved in the investigation into a robbery. No trailer yet but a clip has been released.



The 2012 festival will also see David Cronenberg getting back to what he does best with the off the wall Cosmopolis, starring Robert Pattinson, a new flick from The Road helmer John Hilcoat entitled Lawless that is looking very interesting indeed and an adaptation of Jack Kerouac’sOn the Road starring Kristen Stewart and directed by Walter Salles.




One we’re very excited for is Mud, the latest from Jeff Nichols. He delivered one of our favourite films of last year with the mesmerising Take Shelter (read our review)and this time tells a story of two young boys who encounter a strange man called Mud (Matthew McConaughey) who tells them an incredible story that might just turn out to be true.


Those in search of more indie fare should be interested in Benh Zeitlin’sBeasts of the Southern Wild – which garnered rave reviews at its premiere during Sundance in January. It’s a post apocalyptic tale with a difference – when a young girl finds her father’s health is failing she heads out on a terrifying and magical adventure to get help from her estranged mother.



Other titles screening in competition include Ken Loach’sThe Angels Share, Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt, Michael Haneke’s Love, Precious director Lee Daniels’ The Paperboy and 89 year old Alain Resnais latest You Haven’t Seen Anything Yet. All of these films and more will be showing in the coming days, so get ready for a slew of reviews for titles which may not make their regular theatrical debut for many months.

The head of the Competition Jury is Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti and he’s joined by the likes of Diane Kruger, Alexander Payne and Jean Paul Gaultier while the proceedings will be hosted by the star of The Artist, Berenice Bejo.

The Cannes film festival 2012 runs from the 16th to the 27th of May, stay tuned for more updates and why not check out an image from the unusual photo call for The Dictator.