British director Ken Loach returned to compete for the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) for the best film at the 67th Cannes Film Festival, with his new movie screened on Thursday.

Winning the Palme d'Or for "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" in 2006, Loach this time tells a story in the early 20th century.

In 1921, Jimmy Gralton opened a dance hall on a rural crossroads in Ireland, where young people could come to learn, to argue, to dream, but above all to dance and have fun, according to the official synopsis provided by the festival organizer.

With the portrayal of the "uncompromising" character, "Jimmy's Hall" is Loach's 14th participation in the Selection of the Cannes Film Festival.

It is a film "that is true to his style," commented the official daily digest of the film festival.

At a press conference on Thursday for "Jimmy's Hall", Loach and his team spent a while discussing the traditional and the latest technology on filming.

Talking about the technical aspect and the difference between 35mm film and digital one, Loach said "with 35mm film, which has to be cut, you pay more attention to what you're doing, because it's a much more human cooperation."

"35mm film is something you can touch and see. It was very expensive to order new reels, so we asked the editors if they had something in their garage. The Pixar people found some!"

While chief cameraman Robbie Ryan said "it's a shame that things have changed so much. I hope the two systems could coexist but it hasn't turned out that way."

Screenplay writer Paul Laverty said "people like traditional technology so we're going to keep on cutting films."

A total of 18 feature films have been selected in Competition. The winners will be announced on May 24, one day before the originally planned date due to the European Parliament elections on May 25.