The Cannes International Film Festival begins tonight

The 79th International Film Festival begins tonight in Cannes, and 22 films are competing for the Palme d'Or, which will be awarded on May 23rd, organizers announced.

Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, Pedro Almodovar (seventh time in competition), exiled Russian director Andrei Zvyagintsev and former winners Hirokazu Kore-eda and Christian Munguia will compete for the Palme d'Or.

On the list of 22 films, there is only one American director, Ira Sachs, while Hollywood films are absent from the famous festival this year.

Among the filmmakers in competition, there are only five female directors, fewer than in the previous edition, which had seven.

Rising stars of French cinema will make their debuts, such as Lea Mysius with her adaptation of Laurent Mauvignier's novel "Histoires de la nuit" (Tales of the Night), starring Bastien Bouillon and Monica Bellucci.

Also on the list is the film "The Unknown Woman" (L'inconnue), an adaptation of a comic book, directed by Frenchman Arthur Harari.

Three Spanish films are also part of the selection, organizers announced.

In other sections and out of competition, the festival will be marked by the screening of the major French production "La bataille de Gaulle: L'âge de fer" (The Battle of De Gaulle: The Iron Age), the first part of a film about the general, written and directed by former diplomat Antonin Baudry.

Several true stories are expected to touch audiences on the big screen, including "L'abandon," a film about the last days of murdered teacher Samuel Paty, which will be screened out of competition.

Expected on the red carpet are Isabelle Huppert, who was the president of the jury last year, French cinema icon Catherine Deneuve, actresses Monica Bellucci, Léa Seydoux, Marion Cotillard, actors Javier Bardem, John Travolta and Adam Driver.

The president of the jury this year is South Korean director Park Chan-wook, and the jury will include American actress Demi Moore and Chinese director Chloe Zhao, among others.

Last year's winner of the Palme d'Or was Iranian director and dissident Jafar Panahi for his film "It Was Just an Accident," which was filmed in secret.