9 films to watch at Cannes

1. The Lobster

In 2009 Yorgos Lanthimos made a splash at Cannes with Dogtooth, a surreal and darkly humorous family fable which won the Prix Un Certain Regard. The Greek director's latest is a dystopian tale set in the near future where singles are required to find love in 45 days. If they fail they are transformed into animals and released into the woods. Lanthimos' English-language debut features in the main competition at Cannes and stars Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Lea Seydoux and Ben Whishaw.

2. Sicario

Emily Blunt stars as an idealistic FBI agent hired to take down a Mexican cartel boss in the lawless border area between Mexico and the United States. With Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin co-starring, Sicario (which means “hitman”) is generating Palme d’Or buzz for its director, Denis Villeneuve, whose previous films include the doppelgänger thriller, Enemy and Prisoners. Both films starred Jake Gyllenhaal – who is on the Cannes jury this year.

3. Amy

Asif Kapadia's documentary about the singer Amy Winehouse is the only picture from a British director at Cannes - and it's showing out of competition. In a similar vein to his acclaimed documentary Senna (2010), Kapadia mixes archive footage with interviews, following the life of the singer from her early years up to her death from alcohol poisoning in 2011. It has already attracted controversy as Winehouse's family recently claimed that it "is both misleading and contains some basic untruths".

4. Macbeth

Justin Kurzel, the acclaimed director of Snowtown (2011) tackles Shakespeare in a bloody, visceral adaptation of the murderous play. Michael Fassbender takes the title role, with Marion Cotillard as his devious wife and a strong supporting cast that features Paddy Considine as Banquo, Sean Harris as Macduff and David Thewlis as Duncan.

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