The 64th edition of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, which opens on May 11, will screen 49 features from 33 countries, but there is no Indian entry to compete for the event's most coveted prize.
After a fair showing last year with Vikramaditya Motwane's Udaan , India has again failed to mark its presence at the festival.
The film had come after an uncomfortably long dry patch of several years.
The festival will go on till May 22 and its official line-up was announced here on Thursday by its General Delegate Thierry Fremaux.
In a disappointment yet again, there is no Indian entry among the 19 films that will compete for the Palm d'Or, festival's most coveted prize.
“Great filmmakers make great films and the Festival de Cannes welcomes them with open arms,” Mr. Fremaux said at a press conference here before announcing the selections.
Legendary actor Robert De Niro will preside over the jury, whose other members will be announced next week.
Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris , starring the French First Lady, Carla Brunei, Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard and Adrien Brody will kick-start the festival on the French Riviera on May 11.
The festival will feature the Brad Pitt starrer Tree of Life , the latest film by superstar-director Terrence Malick, besides Pedro Almodovar's The Skin I Live In , featuring Antonio Banderas.
Other top directors in competition include, Denmark's Lars Von Trier with Melancholia , Turkey's Nuri Bilge Ceylan with Once Upon a Time in Anatolia , and Belgium's Dardenne brothers with Set Me Free.
