Cannes Film Festival announces official selections

The Cannes International Film Festival Organising Committee announced the finalists of this year's Film Festival Thursday.

Fifty films were selected, of which 18 films will be in the main competition, Xinhua reported.

"After three years of absence, renowned French director Jean-Luc Godard will return to Cannes with the film 'Goodbye language (Adieu au langage)'," Cannes Film Festival artistic director Thierry Fremaux said at a press conference held in Paris.

Fremaux said Godard's new film is unique, and the Cannes Film Festival would be "proud" to welcome him.

Godard, now 83 years old, is one of the representatives of the new wave films. His film has a strong shot of political and experimental aspects, and has been a regular nominee at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2010, his film "Film Socialisme" was nominated for the "Un Certain Regard" unit.

In addition to Godard, this year the Cannes Film Festival also welcomes some regular finalists: British director Ken Loach's new film "Jimmy's hall", Canadian director Atom Egoyan's "Captives" and Canadian director David Cronenberg's the "Maps to the stars".

Chinese director Zhang Yimou's new film "Coming Home" was selected as non-competition screenings. Another Chinese director Wang Chao's new film "Fantasia" entered the "Un Certain Regard" unit.

Japanese director Naomi Kawase and Italian director Alice Rohrwacher are the two female finalist directors, with their film "Deux Fenetres" and "La Merveille" respectively.

Fremaux said that this year's finalists are "classical" and "modern" combined, and to some extent reflects the bravery of the film maker and the film itself. He also confirms that there may be more films to be selected as finalists in the future.

The 67th Cannes International Film Festival will be held in the southern France coastal city of Cannes from May 14-24. This year the main competition jury is chaired by New Zealand director Jane Campion.

The "Un Certain Regard" unit was officially launched in 1978 as a non-competition category, and focuses on the works of new filmmakers worldwide.

A total of more than 1,800 films are submitted to the Cannes Film Festival this year.