Almodóvar's "Bitter Christmas" is competing alongside films by five female directors instead of the usual four, artistic director Thierry Frémaux emphasized at Thursday's press conference.
The competition section also includes "Fjord" by Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, which is about a Romanian-Norwegian couple who move to the Norwegian wife's hometown. The female lead is played by Norwegian Renate Reinsve, from "Sentimental Value".
Among the other competitors are exiled Russian director Andrei Zvyagintsev's film "Minotaur", "Garance" by French director Jeanne Herry, and "Parallel Stories" by exiled Iranian director Asghar Farhadi.
This year's festival begins on May 12th and ends on May 23rd.
