With film fest season underway, everyone who is anyone is flocking to the south of France this week for the 69th annual Cannes Film Festival – still the most important event the industry. Turned out in their finest, filmmakers and actors will decorate the red carpets as they welcome another season of particularly evocative cinema.

This year’s festival brings a new round of gems for the emotionally aware and the socially conscious. Some titles touch on capitalism, refugees or sex work, while others bring life to some of our favorite novels or a cultural icon’s life. As Cannes kicks off, these are our most anticipated selections.

Happy End

Oscar-nominated Isabelle Hupert plays a privileged matriarch in this thought-provoking film from Michael Haneke. The drama centers on a wealthy family in Calais, set against the backdrop of Europe’s current refugee crisis.

Okja

Growing up in the mountains of Korea, Mija’s best friend is an animal named Okja. When Okja is taken to America by the Mirando Corporation, CEO Lucy Mirando has big plans for the creature. Mija sets of on a journey to bring her best friend home, facing off against powerful capitalists.

Ismael’s Ghost

Opening the festival is a film from Arnaud Desplechin about the return of a lost love. Ismael is a filmmaker happily married to Sylvia. As he begins production on a new film, he’s sent into a tailspin with the return of a former lover.

You Were Never Really Here

Joaquin Phoenix turns a powerful performance as a war veteran who finds himself on a rescue mission he never would have imagined. When a teenage girl goes missing, he goes up against a sex trafficking ring to save her.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Colin Farrell stars as a prominent surgeon who takes a teenage boy under his wing, adopting him into his family. But as the youth’s troubled behavior turns sinister, the doctor is faced with making an unthinkable decision.

Wonderstruck

Todd Haynes brings Brian Selznick’s novel to life in this stunning film. Rose’s story starts in 1927 New Jersey. Ben’s begins in 1977 Minnesota. Separated by half a century, their stories are connected by their yearning for something missing from their lives. While Ben pursues a father he never met, Rose dreams of meeting her favorite actress.

The Beguiled

From Sofia Coppola comes a chilling film set during the Civil War at a southern girls’ boarding school. When the group of young women takes in a wounded enemy soldier, sexual tension and dangerous rivalries abound. With the influence of their new guest, an unexpected turn of events takes place.

Redoubtable

Set in 1967 Paris, this film from Michel Hazanavicius follows legendary filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard at the height of his career. During the filming of La Chinoise with his young love, Anne Wiazemsky, he’s pushed to examine himself. What results is a transformation to a misunderstood Maoist artist.

The Meyerowitz Stories

From Noah Baumbach comes this heartfelt family comedy, starring Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Adam Sandler, and Ben Stiller. When their artist father is being honored in a celebration, the adult siblings of an estranged family come together for the event. Together, they grapple with the influence of their aging father.

Good Time

Robert Pattinson stars in this adrenaline-fueled thriller about a man whose younger brother lands in jail after a bank robbery gone wrong. Racing against the clock to get his brother out of jail, he must survive the city’s violent underbelly as both their lives hang in the balance.