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Canada brings out the big guns for Cannes 2014: Gosling, Cronenberg, Egoyan, and Dolan

The 2014 Cannes Film Festival is going to be one of the biggest ever for Canada. Although it doesn’t kick off until May 14, the esteemed French film fest has already announced its star-studded international lineup, and Canadian filmmakers and actors are finding themselves extremely well represented.

Canuck exports in competition at Cannes this year include David Cronenberg’s "Maps to the Stars," Xavier Dolan’s "Mommy," and Atom Egoyan’s "The Captive." The high profile hat trick marks the first time that three Canadian films that have screened in competition at Cannes in the same year.

Cronenberg's latest film, "Maps to the Stars," is a Hollywood set tale (the first time the legendary Toronto-based filmmaker has ever shot a movie in Los Angeles) that follows two former child-stars struggling to survive the entertainment industry. Co-starring Julianne Moore, John Cusack, Mia Wasikowska, and Olivia Williams, the film is the second collaboration between Cronenberg and "Twilight Saga" star Robert Pattinson, their previous effort being 2012's "Cosmopolis."

Egoyan's “The Captive” centers on the kidnapping of a young girl and how her abduction affects those left searching for her. The psychological thriller features a fantastic international cast headlined by Canucks Ryan Reynolds and Scott Speedman, as well as Rosario Dawson (“Trance”) and Mireille Enos (“World War Z”).

Also in competition is Cannes darling Xavier Dolan. The young Quebec director is set to bring his fourth film, “Mommy,” to the festival. Cannes is where the filmmaker first came to the attention of the world -- at the 2009 fest, Dolan’s debut feature “I Killed My Mother” won three awards from the Director's Fortnight programme.

Other Canadian quantities set to appear at Cannes 2014? Ryan Gosling (“The Notebook”) is set to bring his directorial debut “Lost River” to the croisette. Formerly titled “How to Catch a Monster,” the dark fantasy film follows a mother (Christina Hendricks) searching for her son in a mysterious underwater utopia. The film, which is rumoured to be heavily influenced by surrealist filmmaker David Lynch, co-stars Matt Smith (“Doctor Who”), Saorsie Ronan (“The Host”), and Gosling’s girlfriend Eva Mendes (“The Place Beyond the Pines”).

Canada’s strong showing at Cannes is great news, but why should the Mediterranean film fest matter to Canadians when we've got the increasingly important Toronto International Film Festival every September?

While TIFF has certainly risen to prominence as the premiere film festival in North America, Cannes is still king across the pond. A strong and influential film industry (along with a proud tradition of film criticism) has long made France the beating heart of the European film scene. As France’s most important film festival, Cannes is especially important to the international movie industry. If a film is well received at Cannes it typically goes on to do well critically both in France and the rest of Europe.

Prime placement in the Cannes lineup not only gives Canadian films an important international spotlight, but it also shows the whole world what Canadian filmmakers and our film industry are capable of producing. It’s the kind of positive exposure that can’t be measured in real dollars (or Euros in this case), but it’s exposure that usually pays off in the form of European actors and other talents wanting to come work on Canadian films and co-production partnerships between continental and Canadian companies.

It’s worth mentioning that “Maps to the Stars,” “The Captive,” “Mommy,” and “Lost River” will likely all be appearing at TIFF later this year as well. Cannes and TIFF have become required stopovers for movies looking to be contenders during awards season.