The Cannes Film Festival this year is running from May 16th until the 27th, and even though there are no Irish films in competition, we will be well represented in the South of France.

There are reportedly 17 Irish productions looking for distribution at the festival, and top of the pile is the Neil Jordan directed vampire tale, Byzantium. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Arterton, Sam Riley, Jonny Lee Miller and the excellent young actor Caleb Landry Jones. It shot in Ardmore Studios in Wicklow with a budget of just over €10 million and is beginning to garner heat - with that cast it would be difficult not to. Good to see Jordan going gothic again regardless. Other high profile Irish productions include the already extremely well reviewed Shadow Dancer, starring Clive Owen and Domhnall Gleeson as well as the Kristen Sheridan helmed Dollhouse.

Others are not finished yet and are being sold with names attached as opposed to shopping a finished product - generally the norm at Cannes. Here's hoping all Irish flicks do well.

Actually speaking of Cannes...