Asghar Farhadi's film starring Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz to open Cannes Film Festival

Aghar Farhadi's psychological thriller Everybody Knows, starring real-life couple Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, will open the Cannes Film Festival.

The film, which also features The Secret in Their Eyes star Ricardo Darin, will be the second film, which is neither in English nor in French, to open the festival after Pedro Almodovar's Bad Education in 2004, the organisers said in a statement.

Shot on the Iberian Peninsula, the film follows the story of Laura, who lives with her husband and children in Buenos Aires. When they return together to her native village in Spain for a family celebration, an unexpected event changes the course of their lives.

This is the eighth feature film by the Iranian director, who is best known for Oscar-winning films A Separation and The Salesman.

The 71st Festival de Cannes will be held from May 8-19. The Competition Jury will be headed by Cate Blanchett.

The official line-up of films to be screened at the festival will be announced on April 12.