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Sean Penn, Woody Allen and Steven Spielberg taking new films to Cannes

A who's who of esteemed directors will be debuting work in the South of France next month, as the line-up for the 2016 Festival de Cannes was announced Thursday.

Woody Allen's "Cafe Society" -- starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart -- will open the festival, screening out of competition. Also debuting at the annual gala but not competing for any awards are Jodie Foster's "Money Monster," Steven Spielberg's kid lit adaptation "The BFG" and Shane Black's "The Nice Guys."

The list of directors duking it out for the coveted Palm d'Or is also impressive, as the In Competition category includes new work by Pedro Almodovar ("Julieta"), Olivier Assayas ("Personal Shopper"), Xavier Dolan ("It's Only the End of the World"), Jeff Nichols ("Loving"), Jim Jarmusch ("Paterson"), Ken Loach ("I, Daniel Blake"), Park Chan-Wook ("Agassi"), Paul Verhoeven ("Elle") and Nicolas Winding Refn ("The Neon Demon").

The category will also see the premiere of Sean Penn's "The Last Face," which means a potentially awkward red carpet photo session with the film's star -- and Penn's ex-fiancée -- Charlize Theron.

The Festival de Cannes runs May 11 through May 22 on the French Riviera. See the full line-up of films here.

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