The film: The Class, the third French film to be presented in Competition for the Palme d’Or, marks director Laurent Cantet's first journey to Cannes. Cantet, director of such socially aware films as Human Resources and Time Out, pursues similar issues with his adaptation of the autobiographical novel by François Bégaudeau, a young French teacher in a tough junior high school. Determined to instruct without breaking his students' spirits, he refuses to coddle them, confronting them with thei...

The Italian journalists so far think that George Clooney's Good Night and Good Luck is the best film in the international competition but the journalists don’t select the awards. Still, often what film critics think turns out to be right. Add to the list Fernando Meirelles' The Constant Gardener , screened today at the fest, another strong contender for the Lion. The Venezia 62 international jury is composed of the Chinese scriptwriter and author Acheng, French filmmaker Claire Denis, Israeli ...