For acclaimed Palme d'Or winners to be screened at a Slovak film festival literally days after Cannes's conclusion used to be a rarity. But last year Art Film Fest managed to do just that, acquiring several films freshly awarded at the prestigious French festival - and this year they've done it all over again, embellishing the festival programme with exclusive Slovak premieres of seven hot new releases straight from the Riviera.

First and foremost is Love, the winner of this year's Palme d'Or, the second such honour for director Michael Haneke. With his latest film, the controversial and highly regarded Austrian director tells the story of a retired couple whose relationship is put to the test when a stroke leaves their daughter paralyzed. The picture is made all the more powerful by its impeccable cast, including Emmanuelle Riva, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Isabelle Huppert, who won Art Film Fest's Actor's Mission Award in 2007.

Winner of the 2007 Palme d'Or and chair of Art Film Fest's main jury in 2008, Romanian director Cristian Mungiu has done it again with Beyond the Hills. The film was awarded at Cannes for best screenplay and best actress, shared by its two female stars for their portrayal of an unusual love triangle, whose third component is God himself.

David Cronenberg's devoted cult following will no doubt rejoice at the news that Art Film Fest is featuring his latest picture Cosmopolis, fresh from Cannes's main competition. This time around the Canadian provocateur has set his sights on a truly worthy target - Wall Street, taking viewers on a 24-hour limousine ride through a Manhattan that has erupted into chaos. As investment banker Eric Packer's paranoia mounts, he gets closer and closer to uncovering a terrifying secret.

A very different, but no less exciting journey is the subject of Argentinean director Alejandro Fadel's The Wild Ones, awarded at Cannes's Critics' Week and scheduled to compete for Art Film Fest's Blue Angel. After making a violent getaway from a reform school, five teenagers embark on an exodus across one hundred kilometres of unforgiving wilderness, turning into a mystical fable of courage and grace.

Seven respected directors, including Benicio Del Toro, Pablo Trapero, Gaspar Noé, Julio Medem and Laurent Cantet, present seven perspectives on a Cuban metropolis in 7 Days in Havana, capturing the uniqueness of this forward-looking city full of life, energy and vitality.

Laced with a divine mystique, Holy Motors is the latest film from Leos Carax, the undisputed enfant terrible of French cinema. In his own words, "The film is...a form of science fiction, in which humans, beasts and machines are on the verge of extinction - ‘sacred motors' linked together by a common fate and solidarity, slaves to an increasingly virtual world."

The subject of heated debates at Cannes, Ulrich Seidl's Paradise: Love may be this year's most controversial film yet, taking an unflinching look at "sugar mamas" - middle-aged European women who frequent Kenya's beautiful seaside resorts in search of young African lovers.

Art Film Fest 2012 - the 20th International Trenčianske Teplice/Trenčín Film Festival

The festival is held under the auspices of Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico.

Organizers: ART FILM, n.o., FORZA, a.s.

Co-organizers: The Town of Trenčianske Teplice, the City of Trenčín, Kúpele Trenčianske Teplice

Financial Support: The Audiovisual Fund

General Sponsors: KOOPERATIVA poisťovňa Vienna Insurance Group, Privatbanka

Main Sponsors: Omnia Holding SE, Slovnaft, AquaCity Poprad, Hydrotour Travel Agency

Official Transport Provider: Lancia

Logistics Sponsor: DHL

Student cinepasses for only €5 provided by Prvá stavebná sporiteľňa, a. s.

Sponsors: TIPOS, Slovak Telekom, Penzión Baske, Cinemax, Forza CZ, Omnia Motors, Omnia 2000, DOMO Omnia, Omnia KLF

Official Suppliers: značka Moët, Hotel Pax - the festival spa hotel, NAY Elektrodom, Esterle&Esterle, MF team, LampART, Stredná odborná škola polygrafická

Main Media Sponsors: Slovak Radio and Television, Pravda, Rádio FM, zoznam.sk

Media Sponsors: TA 3, TV JOJ, Film Europe Channel, Central Europe Television, Rádio Europa 2, .týždeň, Eurotelevízia, Pardon, OK!, Kinečko, Kam do mesta, Focus, GONG SK, Boomerang Media, SITA News Agency, Pay-Per Vision Media, euroAWK, Bittner-print, moviemania.sk, filmneweurope.com

Partners: The Trenčín Self-governing Region, the European Commission Representation in Slovakia, the Slovak Film Institute, the Embassy of Israel in Slovakia, CzechTourism, Celtima SK, Hotel Flóra, KURSALON, versity, the Bratislava Culture and Information Centre, Hollywood Classic Entertainment, Niagara, Magic Box Slovakia, the Italian Cultural Institute in Bratislava, Istituto Luce - Cinecittá, Character - Film Development Association