The Cannes Film Festival 2015 gets underway tomorrow and it doesn't seem five minutes since we were looking over the 2014 programme and highlight the movies, directors, and actors that we were looking forward to seeing.
The 2015 line-up of movies and filmmakers is just as exciting and there are some terrific female filmmakers on the programme that you just have to watch out for.
We take a look at some of the female filmmakers that we are excited about - three of which are in the mix to get their hands on the prestigious Palme d'Or at the end of the festival.
- Emmanuelle Bercot - La Tête Haute
As you would expect, French directors are out in force at Cannes this year and Emmanuelle Bercot is just one that you need to watch out for as she returns with La Tête Haute (Standing Tall).
Standing Tall is just the fourth feature film for the actress and filmmaker and comes after Clement, Backstage, and On My Way, which was released back in 2013.
As well as being in the director's chair for Standing Tall, Bercot has also teamed up with Marcia Romano to pen the screenplay for the film. She has also brought together a great cast.
Standing Tall is going to introduce us to the acting talents of Rod Paradot - he takes on the central role of Malony and makes his acting debut with this movie. He is joined on the cast list by Catherine Deneuve, Benoît Magimel, Sara Forestier, and Diane Rouxel.
Abandoned by his mother at the age of 6, Malony is constantly in and out of juvenile court. An adoptive family grows around this young delinquent: Florence, a children's magistrate nearing retirement, and Yann, a caseworker and himself the survivor of a very difficult childhood.
Together they follow the boy's journey and try unfailingly to save him. Then Malony is sent to a stricter educational centre, where he meets Tess, a very special young girl who will show him that there are reasons for hope.
Bercot continues to mix her directing and acting work and she will be back in front of the camera in Mon Roi - another movie that is part of the Cannes Film Festival programme.
- Valerie Donzelli - Marguerite and Julien
Valerie Donzelli is another actress turned filmmaker and she returns to the director's chair with new film Marguerite and Julien.
Donzelli made her feature film directorial debut back in 2009 with The Queen of Hearts and has seen been behind the camera for Declaration War, Hand in Hand, and Just Love!
Marguerite and Julien is based on a novel by Jean Gruault and has been adapted for the big screen by Donzelli and Jérémie Elkaïm.
Anaïs Demoustier and Jérémie Elkaïm will take on the title roles of Marguerite and Julien and are joined on the cast list by Aurélia Petit and Frédéric Pierrot.
An aristocratic brother and sister embrace passion and hope as they flee from society. A story of desire, love, and death beyond all morality.
Donzelli is another of the French filmmakers to watch out for and Marguerite and Julien will play in competition for the Palme d'Or.
- Maiwenn - Mon Roi
Maiwenn is the third female French director that is in the mix for the Palme d'Or as she returns to the director's chair with Mon Roi.
Mon Roi is the fourth feature film for the actress turned filmmaker - we have already seen her helm Pardonnez-moi, All About Actresses, and Polisse; Polisse was the last time we saw her back in the director's chair back in 2011.
Maiwenn has penned the screenplay for the drama/romance with Etienne Comar and it is the first time that pair have teamed up to work on a film project.
The movie follows Tony, who is admitted to a rehab centre to recover from a serious skiing accident, where she is dependent on medical staff and the pain relievers. During her time recovering from the accident, she reflects on her up and down relationship with Georgio and the struggles that they faced. She begins the process of healing in more ways than one.
We are going to be seeing Emmanuelle Bercot at Cannes with La Tête Haute and she will take on the central role of Tony in Mon Roi, while Vincent Cassel will star as Georgio.
Bercot and Cassel are joined on the cast list by Louis Garrel, Ludovic Berthillot, and Isild Le Besco.
- Alice Winocour - Maryland
At Cannes, it is not all about the Palme d'Or as the Un Certain Regard section of the festival boasts some equally exciting films, directing and acting talent. Alice Winocour is one to watch out for.
Winocour is back in the director's chair with her new film Maryland, which is the first film since she made her debut back in 2012 with Augustine. However, she has a wealth of directing talent under her belt having helmed a series of short projects before she made the leap into features.
Winocour is another of the exciting French filmmakers on show at Cannes this year and she has brought together a terrific cast of come great acting talent.
Matthias Schoenaerts has been one of the rising talents of the big screen in recent years, and we have already seen him star in Far From The Madding Crowd, A Little Chaos and Suite Française already this year and he will take on the central role of Vincent.
Schoenaerts teams up with Diane Kruger for the first time, while Paul Hamy is also on board.
Vincent, a French Special Forces soldier just back from Afghanistan, is suffering from a post-traumatic stress disorder. He is hired to ensure the security of Jessie, the wife of a rich Lebanese businessman at their luxurious villa 'Maryland'.
As he starts experiencing a strange fascination for the woman he has to protect, Vincent increasingly seems to fall into paranoia. Unless he is right, and the danger is very real indeed...
- Ida Panahandeh - Nahid
Ida Panahandeh is one of the filmmakers that are making her directorial debut at the Cannes Film Festival this year with her film Nahid.
Nahid will feature as part of the Un Certain Regard section of the festival and is sent to highlight Panahandeh as a female filmmaker to keep an eye on over the next couple of years.
Nahid is one of the few Iranian films on the Cannes Film Festival programme and sees Sarah Bayat, Pejman Bazeghi, Navid Mohammad Zadeh, and Milad Hossein Pour for the first time.
A young divorcee living with her son in a small northern city of Iran, wants to marry the man she has fallen in love with. According to the current rules, the father has the custody of children; however, her ex-husband has granted her that right on the condition that she doesn't remarry.
Struggling to keep both of her beloved ones, she has to think about the third option: Temporary Marriage (Sighe). However, this will get her into a predicament, as despite its being legal, Sighe is not well-received by the society at all. Would temporary marriage be a good solution for her?
- Naomi Kawase - AN
Naomi Kawase is a director who has been making a splash over the years as she has moved between documentary films and live action/dramatic projects. She returns to the latter with her new film AN (Sweet Red Bean Paste)
The movie is an adaptation of the novel by Durian Sukegawa and Kawase herself has adapted the book into the screenplay.
Kawase has enjoyed a directing and writing career that has spanned over twenty years and in that time she has delivered movies such as Still The Water, Hanezu, and Nanayo as well as documentaries Chiri and Genpin.
Nagase Masatoshi is set to take on the central role of Sentaro in the film, and is joined on the cast list by Kiki Kirin, Naomi Kawase, Uchida Kyara, Masatoshi Nagase.
Sentaro runs a small bakery that serves dorayakis- pastries filled with sweet red bean paste ('an'). When an old lady, Tokue, offers to help in the kitchen he reluctantly accepts. But Tokue proves to have magic in her hands when it comes to making 'an'.
Thanks to her secret recipe, the little business soon flourishes...And with time, Sentaro and Tokue will open their hearts to reveal old wounds
The Cannes Film Festival 2015 run 13th - 24th May.
Tagged in Cannes Film Festival