Loach opens Palme d'Or competition
The competition for the Palme d’Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, will begin today with the Irish Civil War movie by radical British director Ken Loach.
The Wind that Shakes the Barley is one of 20 movies which are up for the main prize.
Loach’s movie, starring Cillian Murphy and Liam Cunningham, is said to be one of the most violent and controversial films he has made.
The director’s films have been selected for competition before, but he has not yet won the big prize.
He won the Cannes Special Jury Prize twice, for Hidden Agenda in 1990 and Raining Stones in 1993, and the Ecumenical Jury Prize for Land and Freedom in 1995.
The winner of the prestigious award will be announced on Sunday May 28.
