Cannes heavy on U.S. fare

CANNES, France, April 19 (UPI) -- U.S. films dominated the lineup of offerings unveiled Thursday for the 60th Cannes Film Festival, which plays out in France next month.

The event will open with the French-Hong Kong-Chinese film "My Blueberry Nights" by Wong Kar Wai and close with "The Age of Darkness," by Canada's Denys Arcand.

Among the major American motion pictures to be screened are Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof," James Gray's "We Own the Night," David Fincher's "Zodiac" and "No Country for Old Men" from the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, Variety reported.

Other countries represented in the competition include "Silent Light" by Mexico's Carlos Reygades, "Tehilim" by Israel's Raphael Nadjari, "Alexandra" by Russia's Alexander Sokurov, Korean Lee Chang-dong's "Secret Sunshine" and Emir Kusturica's "Promise Me This."

A total of 1,600 feature-length films from 95 countries were submitted this year, with 49 making the official selection list and 21 in competition, festival artistic director Theirry Fremaux said. There will be 13 filmmakers competing for the Palme d'Or for the first time.

"The choice is always difficult but this is a rich year for the festival," he said.