The famed Cannes Film Festival will celebrate its 70th anniversary this year when it starts on May 17 along the French Riviera.

Nineteen films from around the world will be competing for the prestigious Palme d'Or award as the top movie at the festival, including productions by directors Sergei Loznitsa of Ukraine and Andrei Zvyagintsev of Russia.

Loznitsa's A Gentle Creature is loosely inspired by a short story by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The director is known for his 2014 documentary Maidan, an account of the 2013-14 protests in Kyiv and their violent suppression.

Zvyagintsev’s Loveless is a story about a family with an aversion to affection.

The contenders also include Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled, a Civil War thriller starring Nicole Kidman and Kirsten Dunst; and Noah Baumbach's The Meyerowitz Stories, with Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller, and Adam Sandler.

Vincent Lindon’s Rodin will feature Gerard Depardieu, who previously starred as the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. The new film marks the 100th anniversary of the sculptor’s death.

Hungarian director Kornel Mundruczo’s Jupiter's Moon revolves around the European migrant crisis and a young refugee who discovers amazing powers after being shot.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP