The competition lineup of 16 films for the upcoming 63rd Cannes Film Festival was released today. Here is a quick look at the titles that will be vying for the prestigious (and usually disappointing) Palme d’Or.

Outrage by Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano returns to his roots with this new crime drama in which he also star. Trailer (in Japanese)

Another Year by Mike Leigh
I wasn’t a huge fan of Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky, but Leigh is a great filmmaker and I’m sure this film starring Lesley Manville and Jim Broadbent will be of the utmost quality.

Tournee by Mathieu Amalric
Amalric is probably best known as the star of Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (he was also in Quantum of Solace). He takes a turn behind the camera in this movie about American burlesque dancers in Paris.

Des Hommes et des Dieux (Of Gods and Men) by Xavier Beauvois
I know very little about actor/director Beauvois. This film centers around a 1996 murder of French monks in Algeria.

Hors la loi (Outside the Law) by Rachid Bouchareb
This movie is about the Algerian struggle for independence following WWII. It should be familiar territory for the French-born Bouchareb. His 2006 film Indigenes (Days of Glory) is about Algerian forces in WWII. That film won the acting prize at Cannes and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar.

Fair Game by Doug Liman
Okay so Jumper was nothing special but Liman also directed Swingers and Go. This political thriller stars Naomi Watts and Sean Penn as Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson. Can you guess who plays who?

Un Homme Qui Crie (A Screaming Man) by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Tough to find much about the film from the Chad-born Haroun.

Housemaidby Im Sang-soo
Ooh, a Korean horror film in competition at Cannes oughta be pretty good.

Poetry by Lee Chang-dong
Lee’s 2007 film Secret Sunshine won an acting prize at Cannes. This movie is about a Korean woman in her 60s who develops an interest in poetry. Sounds exciting.

Copie Conforme (The Certified Copy) by Abbas Kiarostami
Kiarostami is possibly Iran’s most famous filmmaker. He won the Palme d’Or in 1997 for Taste of Cherry. He returns with this romantic drama set in Italy and starring Juliette Binoche.

You, My Joy by Sergei Loznitsa
I got nuthin…

Biutiful by Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu
Inarritu (Babel) returns with his first all Spanish film since Amorres Perros. It is also his first film not written by Guillermo Arriaga – so expect more cohesion (maybe). The film stars Javier Bardem.

La Nostra Vita by Daniele Luchetti
Luchetti is a protege of Italian director extraordinaire Nanni Moretti.

Utomlyonnye Solntsem 2 (Burnt by the Sun 2) by Nikita Mikhalkov
This is Mikhailov’s sequel to the 1994 Cannes Grand Prix and Foreign Language Oscar winning Soviet epic Burnt by the Sun.

La Princesse de Montpensier by Bertrand Tavernier
This looks to be a 16th century French costumer. Tavernier is most famous for his 1986 film ‘Round Midnight.

Loong Boonmee Raleuk Chaat (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives) by Apichatpong Weerasethakul
This Thai director has received a ton of awards over his rather short filmography. 2002’s Blissfully Yours won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes. 2004’s Tropical Malady won a Cannes jury prize. 2006’s Syndromes and a Century was highlighted at both Venice and Toronto.

We will surely be hearing more about these films as the fest approaches.