From Fassbender's Macbeth to Farrell's Lobster: Donald Clarke's first picks for Cannes 2015

What are we looking forward to at Cannes this year? Well, it depends which Cannes you mean. The competition for the Palme d’Or – the most important film award apart from the Oscar – brings the usual array of auteurs to the table.

Todd Haynes directs Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara in

[ period romance Carol ]

. Paolo Sorrentino, still swollen with acclaim for

The Great Beauty

, returns with

[ star-stuffed drama Youth ]

. Young avant-garde master Yorgos Lanthimos directs Colin Farrell  in an Irish co-production named

The Lobster

.

But the favourite might just be Dheepan, a social-realist drama from Jacques Audiard, director of A Prophet and Rust and Bone. We 'll also be watching to see how Michael Fassbender handles the "Scottish character" in Justin Kurzel's Macbeth.

There are also mainstream delights away from the main competition.

Can Pixar, the animation studio of the age, recover form with its new fantasy Inside Out? Asif Kapadia's Amy, a documentary about Amy Winehouse, has already kicked up some controversy with the late singer's family.

Woody Allen makes yet another return to La Croisette with Irrational Man, a serious comedy featuring Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone. We can't wait for Cemetery of Splendour, the latest from Thai master Apichatpong Weerasethakul in the Un Certain Regard section.

All those (and more) will be assessed in our uniquely comprehensive coverage of the festival. For more see, irishtimes.com/culture and Donald Clarke's Screenwriter blog