Director Ari Folman couldn't take his plane back to Israel as planned. He had to stay longer at the Cannes Film Festival because of the intense interest in his animated documentary, "Waltz With Bashir."

"It's unbelievable to be here," he told The Shmooze. "We had no clue where we were going with the movie."

Now one of the buzzed-about favorites for the Palme d'Or, Cannes's top prize, "Waltz With Bashir" chronicles — in cartoon form — Israel's 1982 war against Lebanon. The title refers to the assassination of Lebanese president-elect Bashir Gemayel, which led to the massacres in Sabra and Shatila.

"Waltz With Bashir" continues a Cannes trend that began last year with "Persepolis," another work that highlighted the horrors of war through animation.