09/03/2012 - The latest film by talented and unpredictable American director Wes Anderson will open the 65th Cannes Film Festival.

Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and Jason Schwartzman: the Cannes Film Festival's famous steps will not be wanting for stars for the opening of its 65th edition (from May 16 to 27), with the screening of Moonrise Kingdom by American director Wes Anderson, a film that appears to be out of competition.

Written by the director with Roman Coppola, the film, whose music was composed by Frenchman Alexandre Desplat, will be distributed in French cinemas by StudioCanal on the same day as its presentation at Cannes, on May 16. For the second year in a row, French cinema owners who want will be able to screen the Cannes opening ceremony live, as well as the complete programme of the festival's opening night.

In six films, Wes Anderson has imposed himself with an original style revealed with Bottle Rocket (1996) and Rushmore (1998), with won him, among others, a Golden Globe nomination for Bill Murray. The director then participated in the Berlinale competition with The Tenenbaum Family in 2002 (which also won him a nomination for an Oscar for best screenplay) and with Life Aquatic in 2005. It was then Venice's turn to select The Darjeeling Limited for its competition in 2007, before Anderson tried out his luck with animation film in Fantastic Mr. Fox (nominated for an Oscar for best animation film in 2010).

"Wes Anderson is part of the rising powers of American cinema, that he is revisiting in a very personal way, in particular in Moonrise Kingdom, which once more is testimony to the freedom of creation in which he continues to evolve," said Thierry Frémaux, director of the Cannes Film Festival. "Sensitive and independent, this admirer of Fellini and Renoir is also a brilliant and inventive filmmaker."

His esteem for the American director is shared by Gilles Jacob, the festival's president.

"With Wes Anderson opening the 65th Cannes Film Festival, its young American cinema that will be famous on the Croisette."

The 2012 Cannes jury will be presided by Italian director Nanni Moretti (readmore). The official selection will be unveiled on Thursday, April 19, in Paris, where already rumours are rife about the possible candidates for the Palme d'Or (news). At the latest news, ultra-perfectionist Wong Kar-waï will not be ready with his film The Grandmaster, whereas On the Road by Brasilian director Walter Salles and Cosmopolis by the Canadian David Cronenberg confirm their statuses as almost certain competitors with dates for French releases on May 23. The release of Grand soir by the duo Gustave Kervern - Benoît Delépine (article) has been replaced from April 11 to June 6 and that Aimer à perdre la raison by the Belgian Joachim Lafosse has joined the (still very hypothetical) list of pretenders to a Cannes selection.

(Translated from French)