New films from Joel and Ethan Coen, Alexander Payne, Nicolas Winding Refn, Roman Polanski and Steven Soderbergh are among the features that will be presented in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, organizers announced on Thursday. The Coen brothers, the writer-directors of “Fargo,†“No Country for Old Men†and “The Big Lebowski,†will be represented by “Inside Llewyn Davis,†their new film starring Oscar Isaac as a fictitious singer in the New York folk-music scene of the 1960s.
Mr. Payne, whose previous features include “Sideways†and “The Descendants,†will present his new film, “Nebraska,†starring Will Forte and Bruce Dern as a father and son on a road trip. Additional selections include “Only God Forgives,†a crime thriller starring Ryan Gosling and written and directed by Mr. Winding Refn (“Driveâ€), and an adaptation of “Venus in Fur†directed by Mr. Polanski (“Chinatownâ€). Mr. Soderbergh, who vows that he’s getting out of the feature-directing business, will nonetheless be represented by “Behind the Candelabra,†his biographical film starring Michael Douglas as Liberace, which will be shown in the United States on HBO.
Other directors with films in competition include Asghar Farhadi, Takashi Miike and François Ozon. The festival will run May 15 to 26, opening with Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of “The Great Gatsby†and closing with “Zulu,†a crime film directed by Jérôme Salle.
