The 2011 Cannes film festival opens on May 11 with Woody Allen's film “Midnight in Paris.” The selection this year will include 49 feature films from 33 countries including 44 world premieres and a 20-film main competition. It is expected to be a splashier affair this year than last, when financing woes for smaller productions and the lack of major stars cast a shadow over the event. Among the most hotly anticipated films in competition for 2011 is period drama “The Tree of Life” starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, directed by Terrence Malick. Following is the list of the films in competition, listed by the nationality of the director: AUSTRALIA: n Sleeping Beauty/Julia Leigh — Starring Emily Browning, the film is about a student drawn into a hidden world where old wealthy men have their way with her while she sleeps under heavy sedation. AUSTRIA: n Michael/Markus Schleinzer — A debut film about the problematic relationship between a 10-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man. BELGIUM: n The Kid With A Bike/Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne — The Boy with the bike is about a child who turns to a young woman after being abandoned by his father. BRITAIN: n We Need To Talk About Kevin/Lynne Ramsay — Starring Tilda Swinton and John C Reilly. A film about parents whose son carried out killings in a school. DENMARK: n Melancholia/Lars Von Trier — Starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kiefer Sutherland, this is an end-of-the-world sci-fi drama about a planet that appears to be on a collision course with Earth. n Drive/Nicolas Winding Refn — Drive stars Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan in a film about a stunt driver moonlighting as a criminal getaway driver. FINLAND: n Le Havre/Aki Kaurismaki — A comedy drama about a shoe shiner who saves an immigrant child in Le Havre. FRANCE: n L'Apollonide/Bertrand Bonello — A movie about a brothel where a prostitute has been disfigured with a “permanent grin”. n Pater/Alain Cavalier — Vincent and Alain decide to play men of power in a film in which truth and fiction are blurred. n Polisse/Maiwenn Le Besco — A crime reporter covering juveniles has an affair with a tough cop n La Source des Femmes/Radu Mihaileanu (born in Romania) — A battle of the sexes comedy n The Artist/Michel Hazanavicius — A silent movie star faces oblivion as the “talkies” take over in Hollywood ITALY: n Habemus Papam/Nanni Moretti — Starring Michel Piccoli as a Pope struggling with his responsibilities. n This Must Be The Place/Paolo Sorrentino — Starring Sean Penn as a retired rock star seeking out his father's killer. JAPAN: n Hanezu No Tsuki/Naomi Kawase — A film about the Asuka area from ancient to modern times. n Ichimei (Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai)/Takashi Miike — A 3-D remake of Masaki Kobayashi's 1962 film “Seppuku”, also known as “Harakiri”. SPAIN: n La Piel Que Habito (The Skin I Live In)/Pedro Almodovar — With Antonio Banderas, who plays a surgeon out for revenge. TURKEY: n Bir Zamanlar Anadolu'da (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia)/Nuri Bilge Ceylan — About a doctor in Anatolia. UNITED STATES: n The Tree of Life/Terrence Malick — Starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn in a tale of a family with three sons set in the 1950s.
