Cannes festival to mark a return to cinema greats

The 2005 Cannes film festival will mark a return to the big names with top, cult directors who have dominated global cinema since the 1980s competing against younger Asian filmmakers, organisers said.

The 2005 Cannes film festival will mark a return to the big names with top, cult directors who have dominated global cinema since the 1980s competing against younger Asian filmmakers, organisers said.

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Movie legends such as Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch, Lars von Trier, Gus van Sant and David Cronenberg will be among the 20 directors with films competing for the coveted Palme d'Or in the French Riviera resort.

The choices this year mark an attempt to move away from the eclectic selection seen in 2004, when the giant green ogre Shrek competed against the eventual winner Michael Moore's polemic documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11.'

Artistic director Thierry Fremeaux told a press conference organisers had had a tough time in selecting films for all the festival's categories, having to whittle down their choice from more than 1,000 films.

"Last year we wanted to present the importance of documentary cinema and animation. This year, there is a return to a certain classicism, the great authors many of whom have already been in the competition," he said.

Wenders, returning to Cannes for the first time since 1997, will show his 'Don't Come Knockin', starring Sam Shepard and Jessica Lange at the festival from May 11 to 22.

Von Trier, also like Wenders and Van Sant a past Cannes winner, will show 'Manderlay' while Jarmusch will present his 'Broken Flowers.'

Canadian director Cronenberg will show 'A History of Violence' starring Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris and William Hurt.