In this photo taken on Friday, Dec. 10, 2010, director Sofia Coppola poses for a photo in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)Damian Dovarganes/The Associated Press
Director Sofia Coppola's fact-based drama The Bling Ring will open the Un Certain Regard selection of the Cannes Film Festival next month.
Cannes organizers tweeted the Coppola news on Wednesday, one day ahead of Thursday's announcement of the film lineup that will compete in the official selection of the annual film festival.
Introduced in 1978, the Un Certain Regard section strives to showcase films of wide-ranging visions and styles before an international audience. While the competition is considered part of the Cannes Festival, films in that selection are not eligible for lofty Palme d'Or honours.
Written and directed by Coppola, Bling Ring is based on real-life events and stars Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, Katie Chang and others as an L.A. teen gang that used the Internet to rob the homes of celebrities, including Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom and Lindsay Lohan. The film is slated for a mid-June release in North America.
Coppola, 41, is the daughter of Oscar-winning director Francis Ford Coppola. In 2003, she received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Lost in Translation, which also earned her a Best Director nomination.
In 2006, Coppola's historical comedy-drama Marie Antoinette played in the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival, where it was received with both jeers and a standing ovation.