CANNES turns 65 this year but the world's most famous film festival is nowhere near retirement, writes JAMES MOTTRAM.

In fact, the upcoming edition looks like it's been taking the cinematic equivalent of Viagra, such is the cast-iron strength of director Thierry Frémaux's selection. To begin with, a smattering of former Palme d'Or winners play in competition, including Michael Haneke (reuniting with Isabelle Huppet for Amour), Iranian auteur Abbas Kiarostami (back with Like Someone In Love) and our own Ken Loach.

Loach graces Cannes with The Angel's Share, an upbeat whisky heist starring newcomer Paul Brannigan, and will be hoping that his Scottish-set film will find favour with Ewan McGregor, who will be sitting on the jury. While Loach is the only British filmmaker in competition, he's not entirely alone. Ben Wheatley, the rising director behind 2011's cult hitman horror Kill List, will see his third film, Sightseers – about a caravan holiday gone wrong – plays in Director's Fortnight.

If anything, the strongest films look to be coming from North America. Lee Daniels follows Precious with The Paperboy, starring Zac Efron in a story about a Florida reporter investigating a death row case. It co-stars Matthew McConaughey, who also appears in a second competition entry, Mud, playing a fugitive on the run for director Jeff Nichols.

While Wes Anderson will make his first Cannes appearance, opening the festival with Moonrise Kingdom, a typically quirky tale of two youngsters who flee their New England town co-starring Tilda Swinton, two Australian directors also pitch up in competition with two US-set crime thrillers. Andrew Dominik reunites with his Assassination of Jesse James star Brad Pitt for heist tale Killing Them Softly, while The Road's John Hillcoat delivers Lawless, a 1930s drama about bootlegging brothers starring Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy.

THEN there's On The Road, Walter Salles' long-awaited Jack Kerouac adaptation, starring Sam Riley. Given it's been more than 30 years in development, with numerous directors attached, all eyes will be on whether The Motorcycle Diaries director Salles can crack Kerouac's classic Beat text. Other esteemed auteurs include A Prophet's Jacques Audiard (back with Rust and Bone) and Gomorrah's Matteo Garone (returning with television-based Reality).

Most intriguing, however, is David Cronenberg's surreal-looking adaptation of Don DeLillo's novel Cosmopolis. While the Canadian director's son Brandon sees his first feature, Antiviral, bow in Un Certain Regard, the attention it will receive will pale next to Cosmopolis, with Twilight star Robert Pattinson set to shock as a corrupt billionaire banker. Due to play late on, it looks like capping what promises to be a vintage festival.

The 65th Cannes Film Festival runs from May 16 to 27.