3. Reykjavik
Director: Mike Newell Starring: Christoph Waltz, Michael Douglas, & Frank Langella Yet another former US Presidential link here as Mike Newell dramatises the 1986 Reykjavik summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, with Christoph Waltz and Michael Douglas in the leads. Powerhouses all round then, and while little is known of the tone or the approach to the material, the story itself should be compelling enough to make this 2013's Frost/Nixon. Cannes likes political edges to films - whether it will like something so overtly political is a different matter entirely, but the film is certainly important enough for a nod.
2. Twelve Years A Slave
Director: Steve McQueen Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Brad Pitt, Benedict Cumberbatch & Michael Fassbender Quite often Cannes chooses an actor to showcase - last year it seemed to be Matthew McConnaughey as the festival celebrated his turn to darker and more substantial material with Mud and The Paperboy, and this year, hopefully, they'll do the same with Benedict Cumberbatch by launching the festival with Star Trek Into Darkness and featuring Steve McQueen's latest in Competition somewhere. McQueen has already proved he can make astonishing films with both Shame and Hunger, and his reteaming here with Michael Fassbender should do him well, as will his casting of the supremely talented Ejiofor as his lead. Given how hot a topic slavery has been in the past few months with Lincoln and Django Unchained at polar ends of the scale, this one might well be a strong contender for Cannes - and it would be great to see McQueen in competition.