Salesagents, distributors and publicists are waiting anxiously for news of whichfilms have made it into which Cannes section. As the days count down to theofficial announcements for the various sections, Screen International sifts through the gossipand the guessing to bring you the low-down on the state of play around theworld.

US
WoodyAllen told Screen International last year that he was hoping his new film, HollywoodEnding,would play at the Cannes film festival, and on April 4 the film he describes ashis funniest in years was confirmed to open the event.

Releasedin the US on May 3, just 12 days before Cannes starts, the film features Allenas a New York filmmaker who goes to Los Angeles to make a comeback movie butthen goes psychosomatically blind before the shoot starts. He proceeds to makethe film without the benefit of vision, literally and figuratively. TreatWilliams, Tea Leoni and Debra Messing co-star in the film, which is beinghandled, internationally by VCL and Capitol Films.

Allenhas not had a film in Cannes since New York Stories in 1989, the year, infact, when Steven Soderbergh won the Palme dOr for sex, lies, and videotape. How appropriate ifwould be then Soderbergh could also be back this year for the first time since KingOf The Hill played in competition in 1993 with Full Frontal a sequel of sorts to sex,lies, and videotape. However, the latest indications are that this low-budgetensemble piece about a bunch of assorted characters heading west to afriend's40th birthday party may wait until after Cannes to premiere a decision that will deprive the Croisette of seeing Roberts at the Palais desFestivals for the first time in her career.

Infact, as of press-time, the only US film that appears to have secured acompetition slot this year is Paul Thomas Anderson's fourth film asdirector, Punch-Drunk Love. Described as dark romantic comedy, thisRevolution Studios production stars Adam Sandler as a love-shy small-businessowner who embarks on an unusual romantic voyage with a mysterious characterplayed by British actress Emily Watson. Playing alongside this duo are severalAnderson acting regulars familiar from his previous efforts 'Hard Eight, BoogieNights and Magnolia - including Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Ifindeed, Cannes competition selectors end up with just Anderson's titleamong the line-up, it will not be for want of potential candidates. Numerous festival-friendlyfilmmakers have films ready including John Sayles, whose latest multi-characterdrama, Sunshine State, is now completed; then there is Julie Taymor's Frida, the biopic of Mexicanartist Frida Kahlo, starring Salma Hayek, Ed Norton and Antonio Banderas; and RobertDuvall, whose second film, the Argentina-set thriller Assassination Tango, could follow his first,The Apostle, to the Croisette.

Alsoup for consideration is Gus Van Sant's Gerry, his minimalistexperiment Gerry divided audiences and critics at the Sundance FilmFestival; and Paul Schrader, whose latest, Auto-Focus, is the true story of Hogan'Heroesstar Bob Crane who slid into the world of strip clubs and pornography and whoseskull was stoved in by a camera tripod in 1978.

Amongthe several films that are thought not to have been submitted to Cannes, forone reason or another, are several highly anticipated titles that look certainto turn up at other festivals this year. These include Stephen Daldry'adaptation of Michael Cunningham' novel The Hours starring Nicole Kidman,Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep; Spike Jonze' Adaptation from Columbia Pictures,Intermedia and Good Machine International, featuring Nicolas Cage asscreenwriter Charlie Kaufman and his twin; and Todd Haynes'Far FromHeaven, asumptuous homage to Douglas Sirk with Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid.

ChristopherNolan's follow-up to Memento, a remake of the 1997 Norwegianthriller Insomnia transposed to Alaska and starring Al Pacino and Robin Williamsis already slotted to premiere away from Cannes have been selected to screen atthe inaugural Tribeca Film Festival at the beginning of May.

Outsidethe competition, Rosanna Arquette' directorial debut Searching ForDebra Winger and Anthony and Joe Russo' Welcome To Collinwood are expected to premierein Directors'Fortnight (alongside the already-announced Only TheStrong Survive from the legendary documentary pairing D.A Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus).

AnOfficial Selection slot is also expected to be awarded to 20 minutes of footagefrom Martin Scorsese' Gangs Of New York, an epic production, jointlyfinanced by Miramax and IEG, whose US release has been pushed back yet again.Brian DePalma' noir thriller Femme Fatale is also tipped for anout-of-competition slot. Shot mainly in Paris and starring RebeccaRomijn-Stamos, Jean Reno and Antonio Banderas, the film's finale wasfilmed during last year' Cannes Film Festival closing night ceremonies.


CANADA
The big news from Canada is that its two leading English-language auteurs, Atom Egoyan and David Cronenberg, are both back at Cannes, the scene of previous prize-winning triumphs for both of them.

Egoyan's new film is Ararat, the story of a present-day ethnic Armenian director filming an historical drama about the 1915 uprising of Armenians and their repression at the hands of Turkish militias. Tipped to premiere in competition at Cannes, the film has already stirred up nationalist sentiment, with one Turkish website claiming recently that Ararat distorts history and misrepresents Turkish actions. Armenians claim that more than one million Armenians died during the uprising. The Turkish government dismisses the charge of genocide. A flashpoint in the film is one scene - inspired by an Armenian poem - in which 20 young Armenian brides are forced to dance and then set aflame.

In Cronenberg' Spider, a co-production with the UK (see below), Ralph Fiennes stars in the adaptation of Patrick McGrath's novel about a man haunted and traumatised by his mother' murder at the hands of his father.

JAPAN
Lastyear, 10 Japanese films screened in the various Cannes sections, includingthree in competition 'a new record. This year the total is not likely tobe as high. One reason is the absence of producer Takenori Sento, who haslaunched dozens of films on the festival circuit, but is now busy with aproduction start-up called Rumble Fish. Among the most likely Cannesinvitees is The Sea Watches (Umi Wa Miteita), a period drama directed by KeiKumai from a script by Akira Kurosawa about the lives and loves of prostitutesin pre-modern Japan. Misa Shimizu and Masatoshi Nagase head the cast, whileSony Pictures Entertainment is handling foreign sales.

Anotherfilm tipped for Cannes with a Kurosawa connection is Amidado Dayori, a drama about amiddle-aged couple, played by Akira Terao and Kanako Higuchi, who embark on ajourney of reminiscence and personal discovery. The director and scriptwriter,Takashi Koizumi, was Kurosawa' assistant director for nearly threedecades and made The Rain Lifts, a period film based on one of the master'last scripts. Asmik Ace is in charge of foreign sales. Meanwhile, HiroshiShimizu' Chicken Heart, produced by Office Kitano, is expected to screen inCritics'Week. It tells the story of a young man used, literally, as apunchbag for stressed businessmen.

Sabu'scomedy Drive is also in the running for a Cannes slot. Like two of thedirector's previous films, Dangan Runner and Postman Blues, Drive centres on a chase, thistime between a fleeing bank robber and a law-abiding businessman whose van hasbeen commandeered by the robber' three partners in crime, who want theirshare of the loot. The cast is headed by Sabu regular Shinichi Tsutsumiand Ko Shibasaki, who starred in Go, the Isao Yukisada romantic dramathat swept the Japanese film awards this year. Nippon Herald is in charge ofJapan distribution and overseas sales.

Finally,there is A Snake Of June, the latest by cult favourite Shinya Tsukamoto, best known abroadfor his Tetsuo films. Asuka Kurosawa and Yuji Kotari star as a middle-agedcouple in a sexless marriage who find their lives invaded 'and theirlibidos stimulated 'by a mysterious stranger. Tsukamoto' ownKaijyu Theatre company is producing and Gold View is selling the film abroad.

NORDICREGION
Twofilms from two of the Nordic region' smallest film-making territorieslook set to steal the limelight from Denmark, Norway and Sweden this year. AkiKaurismaki' The Man Without A Past, from Finland, and BaltasarKormakur' The Sea, from Iceland, are both understood to have securedhigh-profile slots, either in competition or Un Certain Regard.

Oneof the most anticipated films of the year, Thomas Vinterberg'sEnglish-language It' All About Love, is understood to have been turneddown, at least at its initial submission. The $10m Danish thriller stars Joaquin Phoenix and Claire Danes as twolovers in a near-futuristic world on the verge of collapse. Trust Films andFilmFour are handling worldwide rights to what is the most ambitious project todate for both the writer-director and producers Nimbus Film. The advance wordis that it lives up to the high expectations, and is deliberately as far fromthe no-frills strictures of the Dogme 95 movement as possible.

Meanwhile,Kaurismaki' The Man Without A Past is the second instalment in theveteran film-maker' so-called Finnish trilogy, which began with Cannescompetition title Drifting Clouds in 1996. Infused withKaurismaki' trademark black humour and sharp social commentary, thislatest film is the story of a man who tries to rehabilitate himself back intothe world after losing both his memory and identity. Markku Peltola, KatiOutinen and Annikki Tahti star in the film, which has yet to appoint aninternational sales agent.

LikeKaurismaki, Kormakur has also written and produced his latest film, The Sea, a $2.4m family dramathat looks at what happens when the boss of a small fishing business decides tostep down and leave his company to his children. The film is co-produced byJean-Francois Fonlupt' French company Emotion Pictures and is being soldinternationally by Flach Pyramide.

Twoother Icelandic films could secure Cannes slots this year, provided they arefinished in time: Dagur Kari' feature debut Noi Albino, which is being sold byGermany' The Co-Production Office; and veteran Fridrik ThorFridriksson' The Falcons, which has yet to appoint a sales agent.

AnotherNordic co-production, and the most expensive ever made in the region, is OleBornedal' $16m I Am Dina, which will probably not get a festival slot but islikely to receive a huge market push from sales agent TF1 International.

SPAIN
Inrecent years, Spain has had a minimal presence at Cannes and invited films havenot fared particularly well. Cannes was about the only place where PedroAlmodovar' 1999 hit All About My Mother (Todo Sobre Mi Madre) was not named bestfilm, although in fairness it did win best director. The 2001 inclusion incompetition of the obscure Catalan film Pau And His Brother, which had Frenchbacking, rankled Spanish producers. Worse, the film got a lashing from critics,and barely registered at the box office.

Forsure, considering the strong performance of many Spanish films at the local boxoffice, their consistent invites to other prestigious festivals such asSundance and the impressive international sales deals on a growing cache oftitles, the absence of Spanish cinema from Cannes cannot be blamed on a lack ofquality films with international appeal. One top Spanish executive says:' don' think they like Spanish films,'echoing the mood ofmany in the Spanish industry.

Thatsaid, Juan Carlos Fresnadilo' slick thriller Intacto, produced by Sogecineand acquired by Lions Gate International following its Sundance premiereearlier this year, is understood to be opening this year' CriticsWeek. Buena Vista has already bought remake rights.

Alsoin the running are Carlos Saura' dance-inspired Salome (Zebra Films); MiguelAlbaladejo' drama Resentment (also Zebra Films); actor JordiMolla' directorial debut We Are Nobody (LolaFilms); Carlos Bosch and JosepMaria Domenech' documentary Balseros (Bausan Films), which follows thelives of Cuban immigrants to the US; and Rafael Gordon' SantaTeresa-inspired Teresa, Teresa.

ASIA
Afterthe hype of last year, when Cannes went mad for Asian films, reality is likelyto settle in this year. The number of Asian and oriental films could be lower,but the quality more consistent. Across the different sections there is likelyto be a selection of establishment names and younger directors who have yet tohit their full stride but which the selectors are keen to support for the longterm.

Chinaseems likely to be well represented. Unknown Pleasures is the hot favourite forcompetition. Directed by Jia Zhang-ke, whose Platform appeared at Venice lastyear, it is the story of two country boys who fall in love and fall in with themob when they move to the big city. A Chinese-Japanese-Korean co-productionwith a $500,000 budget, it is sold by Celluloid Dreams.

Frequentlytipped for Cannes, possibly competition, is Blue Kite director TianZhuangzhuang' Springtime In A Small Town, a claustrophobic tale about acouple whose domestic life is wrenched apart by a visiting stranger. A remakeof a 1950s classic, the film attended Rotterdam' FilMart and is beingsold by Fortissimo.

Similarly,Blue Gate Crossing is expected to find a slot somewhere. Directed by YeeChih-Yen, this is another instalment in the Tales Of China series produced by PeggyChaio and Anne Devauchelle' Pyramide Productions. Sales are by FlachPyramide International (FPI). There is also Chinese-French backing forcompetition shoo-in, The Chinese Seamstress, a story of two middle-class cityboys banished to the countryside following the Cultural Revolution. It isdirected by France-based Dai Sijie, from his own novel Balzac Et La PetiteTailleuse Chinoise, with TF1 International handling international sales.

Fortissimo'The Best Of Times by Taiwanese director Chang Tso Chi, whose Darkness AndLightscooped the major prizes at Tokyo in 1999, is also in with a chance. Straightout of the Hou Hsiao-hsien school of high-craft, slow storytelling, this taleof two dead-end teenagers is bound to keep critics and commercial punters milesapart.

SouthKorea could also be in for a good year. Hong Sang-soo, whose two previous filmshave appeared in Un Certain Regard, is favourite for competition with TurningGate.The film about love, rivalry and memory, is sold by Cinema Service. The samecompany has high hopes for South Korea' most prolific director: ImKwon-taek' period romance Stroke Of Fire (aka Drunken Painting Master). And there could bemore South Korean flavour if Chinese director Chen Kaige' untitled newproject makes it into selection. Produced by Big Bang Creative on a $6.2mbudget, it is the story of a king who falls in love with the wife of one of hissubjects and cruelly sends her husband off to die in battle.

Alongwith South Korea, Thailand has been at the forefront of the 'sian newwave'and it should duly have representation at the festival. Suriyothai by Prince Chatri Chalermmay make it into competition (maybe as the closing film), now that it has beencut, edited and voiced by none other than two-time Palme dOr winnerFrancis Ford Coppola. While Suriyothai was originally conceived as anofficial history of Thailand, at the opposite end of the scale is MonrakTransistor(Fortissimo), by Pen-ek Ratanaruang, a director schooled in pop videos andcommercials. Monrak, a musical coming-of-age tale, has been confirmed to screenin Directors'Fortnight.

Awayfrom east Asia, Cannes is likely to find room for Claybird, by Bangladeshi directorTarek Masoud, and Tadjikistan' Djamshed Usmonov with The Angel Of TheRight Shoulder (FPI). Iran' former Palme dOr-winner, AbbasKiarostami' untitled picture for MK2 is reportedly confirmed forcompetition. From Russia, The Russian Ark (aka Waterloo) by Alexandr Sokurov hasto be a strong contender for a festival slot. The third in his 10-film seriesabout great dictators focuses on Napoleon and was shot in a single day lastDecember in St Petersburg. Celluloid Dreams is selling. Arthouse favouriteSergei Bordov' circus tale The Bear' Kiss (Fortissimo) also hasstrong festival chances. Alexei Balabanov' War, a contemporary dramaabout three English actors taken prisoner in the Caucasus, could also appear.

Oneof the reasons for the apparent retreat by Asian films this year is simply thatCannes does not fall at a particularly useful point in the Asian productioncycle. The biggest releases are timed for Chinese New Year (February) andChristmas. Others will be ready for mid-summer. That is the case with Champion by South Korean KwakKyung-taek, director of Friend, which will be ready for June, while Three, which features ghost storiesfrom different parts of the region, is now more likely for Toronto. DannyPang' atmospheric Thai thriller The Eye will go straight into commercialrelease on the first day of Cannes (May 15).

Alsofrom South Korea are Oasis, by Peppermint Candy director Lee Chang-dong, and ResurrectionOf The Little Match Girl (CJ Entertainment) by Jang Sun-woo. Both may favour a slotlater in the year, such as Toronto, which is understood to be organising aKorean sidebar.

WongKar-wai, whose In The Mood For Love picked up five prizes in Cannes in2000 and who last year returned to give the Cannes Masterclass, has beenpreparing 2046 (Fortissimo), his treatise on how China may change life inHong Kong, for over two years. But nobody 'including Wong' fellowproducers 'seem to know if it will be ready by Cannes 2002 or, indeed,Cannes 2046.

ITALY
Whilethe local film industry recognises 2001 was a vintage year for Italian film,interest is nevertheless heightening around a few established auteurs andproducers, with acclaimed film-maker Marco Bellocchio leading the pack.

Aninvitation to Cannes for Marco Bellocchio' new film, Hour Of Religion, would be the Italianauteur' seventh appearance on the Croisette. The film, which opens inItaly on April 19, features the popular Sergio Castellitto as a formercommunist and atheist whose brothers 'to his dismay 'want tobeatify their dead mother.

Witha list of recent high-profile critical hits to his name, buzz is also circlingaround Fabrica Cinema producer Marco Mueller, whose recent productions include Blackboards (winner of the Cannesjury prize in 2000), Venice Golden Lion contender Secret Ballot and Oscar winner NoMan' Land. Mueller' latest co-production is The Angel On The RightShoulder,a fairy tale deeply rooted in the harsh social contradictions of modern-dayTajikistan. Directed by Tajikistani film-maker Djamshed Usmonov, thewidely-anticipated picture is a collaboration with Switzerland' VenturaFilm. Flach Pyramide is handling international rights.

Meanwhile,veteran auteur Emidio Greco has just completed Il Consiglio DEgitto, anItalian-French-Hungarian co-production which stars popular Italian actor SilvioOrlando. Based on a novel by acclaimed Sicilian author Leonardo Sciascia, thefilm follows the rise and fall in 1792 of a Franciscan monk who ends up in aSicilian jail.

Othernames to watch are: Cristina Comencini, whose family drama Il Piu Bel Giorno Della Mia Vita features a strong castincluding Virna Lisi, Luigi Lo Cascio and Margherita Buy; Michele Placido, whois hoping to visit Cannes for the third time with his film Un ViaggioChiamato Amore, starring Laura Morante, and rising Italian actor Stefano Accorsi.

Otherpossibilities include The Chemist, by emerging director MatteoGarrone, whose critically-acclaimed last film, Estate Romana, screened at Venice lastyear; and Roberta Torre' Angela, which is produced by Rita Rusicand sold by Adriana Chiesa Enterprises.

Meanwhile,Critics'Week is premiering Emmanuele Crialese' Respiro Mio, starring ValeriaGalino, Luciano Ligabue' Da Zero A Dieci (the closing film) and RobertoTorelli' Bello Ciao, a documentary about the riots during the G8 summit inTurin in July 2001, for RAI.

AUSTRALIA
TheAustralian films theoretically ready for Cannes contain more stars ofinternational standing than ever. But while selectors might like to see GuyPearce and Rachel Griffiths from Scott Roberts'directorial debut TheHard Word on the red carpet, orToni Collette and John Goodman from David Caesar' Dirty Deeds, both filmsaction-packed scenarios strengthen their commercial rather than their Croisetteprospects. And Craig Lahiff' period drama, Black And White, starring Robert Carlyleand Kerry Fox, is battling the clock to be completed on time.

AlexProyas'comedy Garage Days is also generating buzz, althoughfew comedies do more than raise a smile with the Cannes selectors. Kirk Guny,Pia Miranda and Maya Stange star in the film, about a young Sydney band tryingto make it big. Fox Searchlight has US rights.

PaulGoldman' acclaimed debut, Australian Rules, has ruled itself out ofthe Cannes running with its Sundance premiere, while several ofAustralia' most high-profile auteurs have films ready but are thought tohave been turned down for various reasons. The Tracker, the latest piece ofbold film-making by Cannes regular Rolf de Heer (The Quiet Room, Dance Me ToMy Song),and Philip Noyce' Rabbit-Proof Fence and The Quiet American are all understood tohave been turned down.

GERMANY
Relationsbetween the German film industry and Cannes have become increasingly strainedover recent years, with matters taking a turn for the worse following remarkslast year by Cannes'artistic director Thierry Fremaux suggesting Germancinema lacked a distinctive style. Last year was the eighth year in a row withno German film in official competition.

Lastsummer, Fremaux made a conciliatory gesture by meeting with German industryfigures in Munich, and this year' Berlinale made a good job of showinghow vibrant German cinema can be.

Nevertheless,there are few signs 2002 will end the Germans'run of bad fortune on theCroisette. Maverick director Werner Schroeter might be able to save the daywith his new feature, Deux, which reunites him with actress Isabelle Huppert, whostarred in his 1991 competition title Malina. Deux is being handledinternationally by Paolo Branco' Gemini Film. Another possible is RalfSchmerberg' Poem, a cinematic realisation of 24 German poems from HeinrichHeine to Heiner Mueller, which may have entranced selectors with itsidiosyncratic use of location and aesthetics for each poem' reading. Nosales agent is attached as yet.

Otherwise,the only consolation for German producers may be that they are represented viathe various European co-productions which may screen in the different festivalsections including Sergei Bodrov' The Bear' Kiss (Pandora Filmproduktion)and Alexander Sokurov' The Russian Ark (Egoli Tossell Film).

UK
Aretrospective of Ken Loach' 1969 film Kes was the only British film with anofficial festival slot last year. But with four British films heading forcompetition this year, those who lamented a crisis in the British film industryless than 12 months ago are reminded again of the cyclical nature of film-making.

Loach'Sweet Sixteen is one of three films by British directors virtually assured of a placein competition. (Another may yet make it into competition and one other Britishproduced and financed film is understood to be in the official selection.) Theothers are Mike Leigh' All Or Nothing and Michael Winterbottom' 24Hour Party People. All three directors have had films in competition beforeand Leigh picked up the Palm dOr in 1996 with Secrets And Lies. SweetSixteen and24 Hour Party People are both being sold by London-based The Works, whileStudioCanal has All Or Nothing.

SweetSixteenstars a cast of unknowns (Martin Compston, Annmarie Fulton and William Ruane)in a drama about a young Glasgow boy trying to secure somewhere to live for hismother who is coming out of prison. All Or Nothing reunites Leigh with twoof his favourite actors, Timothy Spall and Lesley Manville, in a story setduring one long weekend on a North London housing estate. 24 Hour PartyPeople,meanwhile, is a riotous tribute to the bands and clubs of the 1980s and early1990s centred around the northern UK town of Manchester, told through the eyesof Factory Records owner Tony Wilson. UK TV comedian Steve Coogan stars in thefilm, which opened in the UK in April to strong reviews and solid box office.

DavidCronenberg' UK/Canadian co-production Spider is also seemingly assured of a competition slot. Co-producedby British producer Catherine Bailey and financed by Capitol Films, Telefilm Canada and Grosvenor Park, it bringsthe tally of British films (and co-productions) in competition to a record-breaking four.

LynneRamsay' Morvern Callar, which for now is understood to have a berth in Un Certain Regard, may yet secure a competition slot. For her second film, Ramsay, who has twice picked up the jury prize for best short film at Cannes, has chosen to adapt Alan Warner's novel of the same name about a young girl who publishes her dead boyfriend's novel under own name and goes clubbing in Spain on the proceeds. The acclaimed Samantha Morton stars in the film, which is produced by Company Pictures and backed by Canada's Alliance Atlantis.

The Directors' Fortnight selectors are presently seriously considering at least three British films, including Alex Cox's Revengers' Tragedy, Peter Mullan's Magdalene Sisters and Shane Meadows' Once Upon A Time In The Midlands. Kristian Levering's The Intended is also thought to be have been given the nod.

Cox's film is based on Thomas Middleton's blood-splattered 17th-century play about two brothers avenging the slaughter of one of their fiancees. Cox has updated the action to a Liverpool of the future, cast an eclectic bunch including Christopher Eccleston, Eddie Izzard, Derek Jacobi, Margi Clarke and Sophie Dahl, and retained Middleton's original verse. Pathe UK is handling international sales to the film which is backed by both Pathe and the Film Council.

Scot Peter Mullan's second directorial outing, Magdalene Sisters, tells the story of young women banished to the Catholic-run Magdalene asylums in the 1960s for their alleged promiscuity, where they suffered terrible physical abuse. Handled internationally by Wild Bunch, Magdalene Sisters is produced by the Glasgow-based PFP Films and Ireland's Temple Films, with backing from the Film Council and Scottish Screen.

Once Upon A Time In The Midlands is the idiosyncratic Meadows' third film following his bold debut, Twentyfourseven, which picked up the Fipresci prize at Venice in 1997, and A Room For Romeo Brass, which met a slightly more muted critical reception. Another intriguing cast - Robert Carlyle, Rhys Ifans, Kathy Burke, Shirley Henderson and Ricky Tomlinson are joined by UK TV personalities Vanessa Feltz, Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer - star in Meadows' homage to the western about a man who returns to a small town in England to win back his wife after he sees another man propose to her on national television. FilmFour International is handing the film which is produced by Slate Films, with backing from the Film Council and Germany's Senator Film.


LATIN AMERICA
Despite the production lull in Mexico last year, a few gems have emerged with at least three titles likely to participate in Cannes. Among them, Carlos Reygadas' directorial debut, Japon, is confirmed for the Directors' Fortnight sidebar. Cannes regular Arturo Ripstein is tipped to join the official section in competition with his latest opus, La Virgen De La Lujuria (previously known as Cafe Cortado), and another prospective official entry is Aro Tolbukhin, a co-production between Barcelona-based Oberon Cinematografica and Mexico's Altavista, producer of previous Cannes sensation Amores Perros, which picked up the Critics' Week grand prize in 2000.

Written and directed by Reygadas, Japon screened at the Rotterdam film festival earlier this year to rave reviews. The story o