Directors' Fortnight, under the new stewardship of Francois Da Silva, has unveiled a greatly expanded line-up for this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Usually featuring some 15 films, this year's Directors' Fortnight showcases 25 films from 19 countries, while a further 9 countries are represented in the concurrent shorts competition. (See full list below)

Travelling the globe since taking his post last autumn, Da Silva has been determined to imbue the Fortnight with films that speak all languages and come from hidden corners. Adamant that the Fortnight is a parallel section to the official selection and not a competitor, Da Silva has also been vocal about his desire to differentiate himself from his predecessor Marie-Pierre Macia and return to a system of discovery that may have been lost over the past few years. Reflecting this sense of discovery, 20 of the 25 films in competition do not have sales companies attached at present.

"We all know that certain films, like certain people, are born less equal than others. Directors' Fortnight is the natural showcase for these "less equal" film," said Da Silva.

Among the titles for this year's event are one American film, the documentary Bright Leaves by Ross McElwee and a UK film from Notting Hill director Roger Michell entitled The Mother. Other entries come from countries as varied as Iran, Israel, Afghanistan, Cameroon and Portugal.

Heavy on French films, the line up includes six French films and two co-productions. A special screening will be held of late director Maurice Pialat's L'Enfance Nue. The opening film comes from Da Silva's home country, Portugal's The Woman Who Thought She Was President Of The United States by Joao Botelho.

A newly invigorated short film competition will run within Director's Fortnight and is notable in its incorporation of several Eastern European efforts.


Feature Competition

A Love Movie - Julio Bressane (Brazil)
Bright Leaves - Ross McElwee (US)
Deep Breath - Parviz Shahbazi (Iran)
Dry Eyes - Narjiss Nejjar (Morocco)
Gozu - Takashi Miike (Japan)
The Hours Of The Day - Jaime Rosales (Spain)
The Island - Con-stanza Quatriglio (Italy)
James' Journey To Jerusalem - Ra'anan Alexandrowitz (Israel)
Kitchen Stories - Bent Hamer (Norway)
La Chose Publique - Mathieu Amalric (France)
La Grande Seduction - Jean-Francois Pouliot (Canada)
Lent - Jose Alvaro Morais (Portugal)
A Little Bit of Freedom - Yavuz Yuksel (Germany)
The Lion Cubs - Claire Doyon, (France)
The Living World - Eugene Green (France)
The Mother - Roger Michell (UK)
Nicky - Lucian Pintilie (Romania/France)
No Pasaran, Album Souvenir - Henri-Francois Imbert (France)
Oussama - Sedigh Barmak (Afghanistan/Japan)
Des Plumes Dans La Tete - Thomas de Thier (Belgium/France)
The Woman Who Thought She was the President of the United States - Joao Botelho (Portugal)
No Rest For The Good - Alain Guiraudie (France)
Sansa - Siegfried (France)
The Silence Of The Forest - Didier Ouenagare and Bassek Ba Kobhio (Cameroon)
Watermark - Georgina Willis (Australia)

Special Screenings:
L'enfance Nue - Maurice Pialat (France)
Interstella 5555 - Leiji Matsumoto and Daft Punk (Japan/France)*
Mike Brant Laisse Moi T'aimer - Erez Laufer (Israel/France)
No Hay Tierra Sin Dueno - Sami Kafati (Honduras)
Saltimbank - Jean-Claude Biette (France)

Short Films:
Joan of Arc Of The Night Buses - Kornel Mundruczo (Hungary)
Castanhao - Eduardo Valente (Brazil)
In The Black Forest - Josephine Flasseur (France)
Do You Have the Shine' - Johan Thurfjell (Sweden)
Entropy - Jerome Thomas (France)
Frikase - Martin Krejci, (Czech Republic)
The God - Konstantin Bronzit (Russia)
In The Beginning Was The Look - Bady Minck (Luxemburg/Austria)
Nasu: A Summer In Andalucia - Kitaro Kosaka, (Japan)
Small Steps - Thomas Salvador (France)*
A Small Service - Antoine Pereniguez (France)
Polden - Alexander Lamakin (Russia)
When The Wind Weaves Flowers - Bania Medjbar (France)
My Virginity Flows Through her Body - Park Jong-woo (South Korea)*
Slaves Of The Lord - Hadar Friedlich (Israel)
Sunday, The Gospel According To Liftman Alberta - Arunas Matelis (Lithuania)