Anderson, Loach and Cronenberg films compete for Palme d'Or

Films by directors Wes Anderson, Ken Loach and David Cronenberg are going head-to-head as they compete for the top award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Anderson's Moonlight Kingdom will open the annual French event on 16 May (12) and it will be among the 22 nominees battling for the prestigious Palme d'Or honor, alongside Loach's The Angels' Share, and Cronenberg's Cosmopolis, starring Twilight hunk Robert Pattinson.

Other movies shortlisted for the accolade include filmmaker Walter Salles' big screen adaptation of Jack Kerouac's autobiographical book On the Road, Lee Daniels' The Paperboy, Jacques Audiard's Rust and Bone, Alain Resnais' You Haven't Seen Anything Yet, and Andrew Dominik's Killing Me Softy, featuring Brad Pitt and James Gandolfini.

Last year's Palme d'Or was awarded to Terrence Malick for another Pitt film, The Tree of Life.

The Cannes Film Festival runs until 27 May (12).