Having slapped on his sun hat and dusted down his tux, the BBC's Neil Smith is on the Croisette to bring you all the news, gossip and glamour from this annual cinema showcase.

Follow his adventures here and on the entertainment news team's Twitter feed.

MONDAY 16 MAY, 1730 BST (1830 LOCAL TIME)

That's all from my Cannes diary this year, but we'll have plenty more news and features to bring you from the festival before it comes to a close this weekend.

I'll leave you with my favourite poster from the Marche du Film, the bustling film market in which any film idea, however fanciful, can apparently be sold to someone.

Bonne projection!

Expectations had been running high ahead of this morning's press screening of Loving, Jeff Nichols' film about an interracial couple from Virginia who faced prison in the '50s for getting married.

Their plight led to a landmark Supreme Court decision that invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage.

The story is one that could have generated any number of stirring courtroom declarations, triumphant exclamations of victory and other such clichés.

Yet Nichols - whose previous features include the highly regarded Mud, Take Shelter and Midnight Special - takes a different tack, concentrating on the human struggle behind the headlines.

He is aided by Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga, both of whom give movingly understated performances as the couple whose surname gives the film its title, as well as a cameo from his regular collaborator Michael Shannon.

Loving is a well-made, well-told and well-timed film from a director we'll all be hearing a lot more of in future.

The Palm Dog is a charming Cannes tradition in which awards are presented each year to the festival's best canine performances.

The prizes are given out at the end of the event. I suspect, however, the 2016 competition may already be "Rover".

Say hi to Nellie, a slobbery English bulldog whose portrayal of Marvin in the new film from Jim Jarmusch could well see this dog have its day.

Said mutt steals all the "paw-dits" in Paterson, a low-key character study that takes its name both from its main (human) character and the city where he resides.

The film chronicles a week in the life of Paterson (Adam Driver), a New Jersey bus driver who has a secret life as a poet.

Every day he gets up, kisses his wife and goes to work. Every night he takes the dog for a walk and downs a beer in his local tavern.

The film is about the people he encounters, the conversations he overhears and the poems he never lets anyone read.

Paterson is up for the Palme d'Or but is probably too minimalist and uneventful to walk away with the accolade.

If Marvin isn't recognised at the Palm Dogs, though, it will be "ruff justice" indeed.

MONDAY 16 MAY, 0800 BST (0900 LOCAL TIME)

Remember that open-air screening of Prince film Purple Rain that had to be called off on Thursday due to inclement weather?

Well, it had been thought the festival would try to show the film again on Sunday at its cinema on the beach.

For reasons best known to Cannes director Thierry Fremaux, though, there was no Prince to be seen last night.

Instead, the festival chose to project 1966 Palme d'Or recipient A Man and a Woman - a great film to be sure, but a lost opportunity all the same.

The upshot is where the Berlin Film Festival had the opportunity to honour David Bowie, a chance to celebrate His Royal Funkiness was allowed to slip through Cannes' fingers.

As he might have said (in French), ceci est ce que cela ressemble quand les colombes pleurent.

SUNDAY 15 MAY, 1700 BST (1800 LOCAL TIME)

Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling had a fine old time at the Nice Guys press conference, clowning for the cameras and responding to questions with a string of wisecracks.

Crowe started off by using his mobile phone to take a picture of his co-star, much to the latter's mock displeasure.

Here are some of other light-hearted moments from this afternoon's event:

Crowe referring to Gosling as "bugalugs", a playful Australian term of endearment

Gosling's explanation of the on-screen rapport between himself and Crowe: "The Alexa [camera] has a new chemistry feature. They just do it in post [production]"

Asked if he and Crowe saw themselves as "bad men" in the film, Gosling quipped: "I'm Batman and he's Robin." "No, I'm Fatman and he's Rubin," 

Crowe fired back

Crowe to a woman announcing herself to be a radio reporter from Colombia: "You shouldn't be on radio, baby, you've got a beautiful face"

Asked whether they would consider making The Nice Guys 2, Crowe said he was much too busy. "That's fine," said Gosling. "I think I can do it on my own"

"That sign over there," said Crowe, pointing to a placard informing reporters with headsets which channels (one or two) they should choose to hear English and French translations. "Is that a football score?"

(BBC)