Pakistan, April 10 -- This year's Cannes Film Festival will pit stalwarts of arthouse cinema such as Poland's Pawel Pawlikowski and Spain's Pedro Almodovar against a small pool of newer voices as 21 titles compete for the gathering's prestigious main prize next month.

The Cannes Film Festival brings together the film industry's biggest names in the sun-soaked south of France each May to strike deals, pledge their love for cinema and party on yachts.

For directors, winning the festival's Palme d'Or opens the door to bigger budgets, opportunities and seals their reputation as leading filmmakers.

In announcing this ?year's line-up on Thursday, Festival Director Thierry Fremaux noted the absence of big studio films as weak box office reven...