Bulging with the most titles to ever screen in the section, Cannes' Directors' Fortnight unveiled its 32nd edition on Wednesday.

Highlights in the section, which takes place 11 - 21 May, are expected to be Karen Kusama's Girlfight, which wowed critics and buyers alike at its Sundance premiere; Silvio Soldini's Bread And Tulips, which cleaned up at this week's David Di Donatelli awards in its native Italy; and Oskar Roehler's Die Unberuehrbar.

From the Asia-Pacific region come three pictures: Korean director Lee Chang-Dong's Peppermint Candy; Japanese director Masahiro Kobayashi's Koroshi; and, from Australia, Vincent Garrusso's Mallboy. From the Middle East is new Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi's Zamani Baraye Masti Asbha.

Since the absorption of the Cinemas En France section last year, France is particularly heavily represented in the section. There are five wholly French pictures - including the anticipated Cuba Feliz by Karim Dridi and Tout Va Bien On S'En Va by Claude Mourieras - plus a further five Franco-international co-productions.

Germany's growing importance as a source of production financing manifests itself in the section, which, in addition to the Roehler picture, boasts two German co-productions: Bela Tarr's German-Hungarian Werckmeister Harmoniak; and Nana Djordjadze's German-Georgian Summer (aka 27 Missing Kisses).

The sidebar is the only one to find much room for the films of the British revival. Slots go to Simon Cellan-Jones' Some Voices, Mark Herman's comedy-drama Purely Belter (formerly Season Ticket) and Stephen Daldry's coming of age drama, Dancer.

Alongside Girlfight, Elias Merhige's Shadow Of The Vampire and Edo Bertoglio's Downtown 81 represent the US.

To complete the Bergman feel of this year's festival there is also a special screening of Malou Meets Ingmar Berman And Erland Josephson. The interview with Bergman and his partner screened recently on Swedish TV channel TV4.

Below is a list of all the features and shorts screening in the section. The list includes the director; nationality; whether the film is making a world or international premiere; and notes if the director is making a feature debut.

FEATURES:

L'AFFAIRE MARCORELLE (world premiere)
Dir: Serge Le Péron - France

LA CAPTIVE (world premiere)
Dir: Chantal Akerman - France/Belgium

LA CHAMBRE OBSCURE (world premiere)
Dir: Marie-Christine Questerbert - France/Luxembourg (debut)

CUBA FELIZ (world premiere)
Dir: Karim Dridi - France

DANCER (world premiere)
Dir: Stephen Daldry - UK (debut)

DOWNTOWN 81 (world premiere)
Dir: Edo Bertoglio - US (debut)

FAITES COMME SI JE N'ETAIS PAS LA (world premiere)
Dir: Olivier Jahan - France/Italy (debut)

LES FANTOMES DES TROIS MADELEINE (world premiere)
Dir: Guylaine Dionne - Canada (debut)

GIRLFIGHT (international premiere)
Dir: Karyn Kusama - US (debut)

KOROSHI (world premiere)
Dir: Masahiro Kobayashi - Japan

LUMUMBA (world premiere)
Dir: Raoul Peck - France/Belgium/Haiti

MALLBOY (world premiere)
Dir: Vincent Giarrusso - Australia (debut)

PANE E TULIPANI (BREAD AND TULIPS) (international premiere)
Dir: Silvio Soldini - Italy/Switzerland

PEPPERMINT CANDY (international premiere)
Dir: Lee Chang-Dong - South Korea

PETITE CHERIE (world premiere)
Dir: Anne Villaceque - France (debut)

PURELY BELTER (world premiere)
Dir: Mark Herman - UK

LE SECRET (world premiere)
Dir: Virginie Wagon - France (debut)

SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE (world premiere)
Dir: E Elias Merhige - US (debut)

SOME VOICES (world premiere)
Dir: Simon Cellan Jones - UK

SUMMER or 27 MISSING KISSES (world premiere)
Dir: Nana Djordjadze - Germany/Georgia

TOUT VA BIEN, ON S'EN VA (world premiere)
Dir: Claude Mouriéras - France

DIE UNBERÜHRBARE (international premiere)
Dir: Oskar Roehler- Germany

WERCKMEISTER HARMONIAK (world premiere)
Dir: Bela Tarr - Hungary/Germany/France

ZAMANI BARAYE MASTI ASBHA (world premiere)
Dir: Bahman Ghobadi - Iran (debut)

SPECIAL SCREENINGS:

MALOU MÖTER INGMAR BERGMAN OCH ERLAND JOSEPHSON
(international premiere)
Sweden

SHORT FILMS (French):

A CORPS PERDU
Isabelle Broue

LA BRECHE DE ROLAND
Arnaud & Jean-Marie Larrieu

C'EST PAS SI COMPLIQUE
Xavier de Choudens

LE MUR
Faouzi Bensaïdi

LES OISEAUX EN CAGE NE PEUVENT PAS VOLER
Luis Briceno

LA POMME, LA FIGUE ET L'ALMANDE (THE APPLE, THE FIG AND THE ALMOND)
Joel Brisse

SALAM
Souad El-Bouhati

SHORT FILMS (Foreign):

HEAD STAND
Lisa Robinson - US

IN ABSENTIA
The Quay brothers - UK

PUGALO (L'EPOUVANTAIL)
Alexander Kott - Russia

ROTA DE COLISAO
Roberval Duarte - Brasil