9. Carol
Todd Haynes is no stranger to picking up awards - his previous movies including Far From Heaven, I'm Not There and Velvet Goldmine were all released to critical acclaim and saw the American director taking home multiple awards. Haynes has yet to have a hit at the Cannes Film Festival, but this year's entry Carol may well change that and see him taking home the coveted Palme d'Or. Starring Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and Sarah Poulson, Carol takes 1950s New York as its setting and in this sense could be seen as something of a companion piece to his early film Far From Heaven. Touching on infidelity, Carol promises to be a sumptuous-looking, character-driven drama with some exceptional performances - Blanchett previously worked with Haynes on I'm Not There, but we can expect her role to be considerably different than the cross-dressing antics in his tribute to Bob Dylan.