With the 67th Cannes Film Festival less than a month away, a heavyweight line-up of films have been announced for the festival, in the main competition, Un Certain Regard and out-of-competition categories. Here are five of the most-anticipated films to keep an eye out for at the most prestigious film festival in the world, set to begin on May 14 at the French Riviera city.

The Salt of the Earth
Co-directed by Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim Wenders, “The Salt of the Earth” − about Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado − appears in the Un Certain Regard category. The Buena Vista Social Club director also presents a restored version of his Palme d'Or winning film, “Paris, Texas”, screening to celebrate 30 years since its release. Expect stunning cinematography.

Maps to the Stars
David Cronenberg explores similar ground to his last film, 2012's “Cosmopolis”, with this satire of contemporary life. “Maps to the Stars” examines a Hollywood acting dynasty through the lens of two of its younger members, both child stars - one of whom entered a drug rehabilitation programme at the age of nine. It's a biting critique of Hollywood artifice and excess that also manages to be a commentary on the state of western civilisation. Expect very dark humour and an icy view of the way we live now.

Lost River
Ryan Gosling starred in the controversial “Only God Forgives” - a talking point at last year's Cannes festival. This year, he's set to cause another stir – on the other side of the camera. Gosling's directorial debut (previously called “How to Catch a Monster”) features in the Un Certain Regard category alongside several other first films. Gosling's film - which he also wrote - stars Saoirse Ronan, Christina Hendricks, Eva Mendes and former Doctor Who Matt Smith. Expect a psychological drama with a fantastical dark side.

Sils Maria
French director Olivier Assayas returns to Cannes with a drama set in the Swiss Engadine. Juliette Binoche plays Maria, a theatre actor who returns to the play in which she made her name 20 years ago, this time in an older role. Chloë Grace Moretz plays the up-and-coming actor now taking the part that made Maria famous, and the film concerns the relationship between the two women. Expect a fine acting in a film about actors.

The Search
The director of “The Artist” – the 2011 Academy Award winner for best picture – is mining film history again for his next project. “The Search” is a remake of Fred Zinnemann's 1948 film of the same name, in which a young Auschwitz survivor travels across war-torn Europe looking for his mother. Michel Hazanavicius' film updates that premise to present-day Chechnya and shows how a young refugee bonds with an NGO worker while searching for his family. Expect high emotion but not necessarily the overt cinephilia of “The Artist”; “The Search” uses classic Hollywood as its springboard, not its subject.

Source: BBC