DUBAI: The Cannes Film Festival on Thursday announced its official selection for the prestigious July event with a number of Middle East regional movies making the cut. Flicks created by part-Arab filmmakers that are up for awards include “Casablanca Beats” by French-Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch, “Bonne Mere” made by Tunisian-French actress Hafsia Herzi, and “A Hero” by Iranian producer Asghar Farhadi. Flicks created by part-Arab filmmakers that are up for awards include “Casablanca Beats” by French-Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch, “Bonne Mere” made by Tunisian-French actress Hafsia Herzi, and “A Hero” by Iranian producer Asghar Farhadi. The famous festival is set to return with a rich official selection competing for the top Palme d’Or award after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic robbed the world’s leading film event of its 2020 edition. The 24 films competing from July 5 to 17 for the prestigious prize awarded by a jury headed by US director Spike Lee are as follows: “Annette” by Leos Carax, France “The French Dispatch” by Wes Anderson, US “Benedetta” by Paul Verhoeven, Netherlands “A Hero” by Asghar Farhadi, Iran “Tout s’est Bien Passe” (“Everything Went Well”) by Francois Ozon, France “Tre Piani” (“Three Floors”) by Nanni Moretti, Italy “Titane” (“Titan”) by Julia Ducournau, France “Red Rocket” by Sean Baker, US “Petrov’s Flu” by Kirill Serebrennikov, Russia “Par un Demi-Clair Matin” (“France”) by Bruno Dumont, France “Nitram” by Justin Kurzel, Australia “Memoria” by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand “Lingui” by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Chad “Les Olympiades” (“Paris, 13th District”) by Jacques Audiard, France “Les Intranquilles” (“The Restless”) by Joachim Lafosse, Belgium “La Fracture” by Catherine Corsini, France “The Worst Person in the World” by Joachim Trier, Norway “Compartment No. 6” by Juho Kuosmanen, Finland “Casablanca Beats” by Nabil Ayouch, France-Morocco “Ahed’s Knee” by Nadav Lapid, Israel “Drive My Car” by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Japan “Bergman Island” by Mia Hansen-Love, France “The Story of My Wife” by Ildiko Enyedi, Hungary “Flag Day” by Sean Penn, US