Rain drops in at Cannes

The New Zealand film Rain, debut feature from writer-director Christine Jeffs, is competing in the Cannes Film Festival Directors' Fortnight.

Telling the story of a girl who decides to grow up too fast, Rain will vie for the Camera D'Or prize for the best first film. It also features Neil Finn's first movie soundtrack and is the first New Zealand movie since 1982 to be selected for the directors' fortnight.

A short film by Jeffs, Stroke, was selected for the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.

Three other New Zealand films - Snakeskin, Stickmen and Crooked Earth - will be chasing international sales while New Line, the studio behind Peter Jackson's New Zealand-made Lord of The Rings trilogy, will be turning on the hype for the yet-to-be-completed films.