Heavyweights in world cinema nominated for Cannes' top prize

Cannes Film Festival organizers announced its 2019 line-up Thursday, pitting leading names in world cinema including Ken Loach and Pedro Almodóvar against each other in competition for the top prize, the Palme d'Or.

Festival veterans Loach and Almodóvar, as well as the Dardenne Brothers, Jim Jarmusch, Terrence Malick and Xavier Dolan — all of whom have previously won accolades at the French Riviera festival — will return for the May 14-25 event.

Four female directors were among the 19 nominated in the main category. They are Jessica Hausner for "Little Joe," Mati Diop for "Atlantiques," Celine Schiamma for "Portrait of a Young Lady on Fire" and Justine Triet for "Sibyl."

Festival director Thierry Fremaux poses in front of the Cannes International Film Festival poster, which shows the late director Agnes Varda, for the upcoming 72nd edition during a press conference to announce this years line up in Paris, Thursday April 18, 2019. The festival will run from May 14 to May 25, 2019. (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)

The last time four women were also nominated at Cannes was in 2011, when that number set a record for the festival. Last year, organizers pledged to raise the prominence of female filmmakers at festivals. A total of 13 women were included in the official selection this year — although male artists still dominate.

Jarmusch's "The Dead Don't Die," a zombie comedy starring Adam Driver, Bill Murray and Chloe Sevigny as police officers protecting a small town, will open the festival on a starry and surreal note.

This is not the first time Jarmusch has competed for the Palme at Cannes using the undead — his 2013 "Only Lovers Left Alive" featured erudite vampires.

Festival director Thierry Fremaux speaks to reporters during a press conference to announce the Cannes film festival line up for the upcoming 72nd edition in Paris, Thursday April 18, 2019. The festival will run from May 14 to May 25, 2019. (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)

Jarmusch is in the running along with other Americans including Malick, who returns after "Tree of Life" won the Palme d'Or in 2011 with the long-awaited "A Hidden Life," about an Austrian anti-Nazi conscientious objector who was executed in 1943. Memphis-born Ira Sachs will present "Frankie" starring Isabelle Huppert.

There was dismay that Quentin Tarantino missed out from being included with the highly anticipated "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. Cannes Artistic Director Thierry Fremaux lamented to critics during the press conference that the movie was still in editing — explaining that Tarantino's insistence on using laborious 35mm will delay its completion.

Spanish director Almodovar will be back on the festival's red carpeted steps with the new film "Pain and Glory" — a self-referential movie about an aging filmmaker played by Antonio Banderas, alongside longtime muse Penelope Cruz. It's been compared to Italian filmmaker Fellini's masterpiece "8 1?2."

Festival director Thierry Fremaux speaks to reporters during a press conference to announce the Cannes film festival line up for the upcoming 72nd edition in Paris, Thursday April 18, 2019. The festival will run from May 14 to May 25, 2019. (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)

Oscar-winning director Alejandro Inarritu will be jury president although the jury members have not yet been announced.

Other highlights of the festival will include a biopic of singer Elton John called "Rocketman," which will be screened out of competition and was directed by Dexter Fletcher. The aging rocker will bring his own inimitable brand of star power to the festival when he attends the screening.

Festival director Thierry Fremaux, right, and festival president Pierre Lescure pose in front of the Cannes International Film Festival poster for the upcoming 72nd edition during a press conference to announce this years line up in Paris, Thursday April 18, 2019. The festival will run from May 14 to May 25, 2019. (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)

Festival director Thierry Fremaux, right, and festival president Pierre Lescure pose in front of the Cannes International Film Festival poster, which shows the late director Agnes Varda, for the upcoming 72nd edition during a press conference to announce this years line up in Paris, Thursday April 18, 2019. The festival will run from May 14 to May 25, 2019. (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)

Festival director Thierry Fremaux, left, and festival president Pierre Lescure in front of the Cannes International Film Festival poster, which shows the late director Agnes Varda, for the upcoming 72nd edition during a press conference to announce this years line up in Paris, Thursday April 18, 2019. The festival will run from May 14 to May 25, 2019. (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A top European Union military officer said that a frigate that’s part of an EU mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels on Thursday morning.

Austrian Gen. Robert Brieger, who is chair of the EU’s military committee, said that it would be crucial for the bloc to “conserve resources” over the long haul because the threat posed by Houthi attacks “will not disappear” due to its connection to the Israel-Hamas war.

“The task given to the military is simply to protect merchant ships and to show the public that the European Union is not willing to accept a terrorist organization will interrupt the freedom of movement at sea,” Brieger said.

Brieger said that he’s asking EU members to provide the necessary resources to the EU mission dubbed Aspides — Greek for “shields.”

He said that it’s the first time that the EU has launched a naval operation in a hostile environment that's twice the size of the 27-nation bloc, calling it a “litmus test” that the bloc will pass successfully.

The commander of an EU naval mission in the Red Sea, Greek Rear Adm. Vasilios Gryparis, wants to significantly increase its size to better defend against possible attacks by Houthi rebels based in Yemen. Nineteen of the 27 EU nations are involved in the mission, but only four frigates are patrolling an area twice the size of the bloc.

The EU mission was established in February to defend civilian vessels and doesn't take part in any military strikes. The southern part of the Red Sea is deemed a high-risk zone.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels, which control much of Yemen’s north and west, launched a campaign of drone and missile attacks on shipping in the Red Sea in November. They have also fired missiles toward Israel, although those have largely fallen short or been intercepted.

The attacks have hit maritime trade to Egypt and Europe, with only around half the usual number of ships moving through the area. It’s added up to two weeks of transit time for vessels that want to avoid the Suez Canal, hiking transport costs and shipping insurance.

The rebels have described their campaign as an effort to pressure Israel to end the wear. The ships targeted by the Houthis, however, largely have had little or no connection to Israel, the U.S. or other nations involved in the war.

Their campaign has continued despite more than two months of U.S.-led retaliatory airstrikes.

General Robert Brieger, chairman of the EU's Military Committee talks to the media during a press conference after a meeting with the Cyprus national guard chief Georgios Tsitsikostas at the Defense Ministry in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The European Union's top military official says a frigate that's part of an EU military mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping has destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels. Brieger said the downing of the drone took place Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

General Robert Brieger, chairman of the EU's Military Committee talks to the media during a press conference after a meeting with the Cyprus national guard chief Georgios Tsitsikostas at the Defense Ministry in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The European Union's top military official says a frigate that's part of an EU military mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping has destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels. Brieger said the downing of the drone took place Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

General Robert Brieger, chairman of the EU's Military Committee talks to the media during a press conference after a meeting with the Cyprus national guard chief Georgios Tsitsikostas at the Defense Ministry in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The European Union's top military official says a frigate that's part of an EU military mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping has destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels. Brieger said the downing of the drone took place Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

General Robert Brieger, chairman of the EU's Military Committee talks to the media during a press conference after a meeting with the Cyprus national guard chief Georgios Tsitsikostas at the Defense Ministry in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The European Union's top military official says a frigate that's part of an EU military mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping has destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels. Brieger said the downing of the drone took place Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)