It's Hand of God v Iron Mike

The Cannes film festival has always been a magnet for some of the most famous people on the planet. Now it makes way for two of the most infamous sports stars: one is "the baddest man on the planet" who bit a chunk out of a competitor's ear, and the other is so venerated a church was created in his honour. Mike Tyson and Diego Maradona are the subjects of two keenly anticipated documentaries to be shown at the festival. The sporting pair are expected to draw large crowds on the Croisette when they visit over the next two weeks.

Maradona has been filmed up close by one of Europe's most respected directors, and a Cannes favourite, Emir Kusturica. The Bosnian Serb is a double Palme d'Or winner for his 1985 movie When Father Was Away on Business, a child's eye view of post-war communist Yugoslavia, and his 1995 three-hour epic Underground, which traced and satirised Yugoslavia between 1941 and 1992. It has raised eyebrows that such a revered director wants to document Maradona. The simple reason may be that Kusturica adores football. So why not one of the most naturally gifted - and controversial - footballers, filmed by one of the most brilliant directors.

An interview Kusturica has given to publicise the film is unlikely to endear him to England fans, many of whom remember Maradona for only one thing: the "hand of God". He put England out of the 1986 World Cup by punching in Steve Hodge's miscued clearance and then scoring a second goal that ranks among the all-time greats. Maradona became a hate figure in the British media, but his reputation more generally went into freefall when he failed drug tests in 1991 and 1994. With his chronic cocaine habit, drinking and noticeable weight gain he seemed like a man out of control, although he is now said to be out of the woods.

Kusturica is clear whose side he was on in 1986. "I was one of millions of people across the world who jumped for joy while watching those two goals against England in 1986," he said. "That match is perhaps the first and the last time there has been justice in the world."

The justice, he continued, was part of a wider political context with both Argentina and Serbia being victims of "western power" in the form of the International Monetary Fund. "Furthermore, in Serbia Maradona is extremely popular. Our football resembles that of the Argentines. It is also said that I am the Maradona of the cinema."

That the portrait of Maradona will be affectionate seems to be without doubt. Kusturica accuses other film-makers, as well as journalists, of bending the truth when it comes to the footballer. "Film-makers understand nothing about football," he said. "They are incapable of speaking about it."

The Paris-based director said he plans to reveal three Maradonas: the football teacher, the family man and "the politically incorrect citizen against the unilateral politics of the USA". The latter relates to Maradona's anti-Bush statements and the former footballer's friendship with Fidel Castro and Venezuela's president, Hugo Chávez.

"The film will be very complex to make, because I want to show the true personality of Maradona," said Kusturica. "Football is a science of great mathematic precision."

As if to rub it in the faces of England fans, the closing scenes of the film were shot in the Aztec stadium in México City: scene of the hand of God.

A similarly affectionate portrait of the boxer Mike Tyson can be expected from the maverick US auteur James Toback, whose film has been chosen for the Un Certain Regard section of the competition. While there is no question of Tyson being one of the greatest world heavyweight champions, he is also the anti-hero. The man who bit a chunk out of Evander Holyfield's ear in 1997 and who served three years in prison for raping a beauty pageant contestant in 1992.

Toback said he had been always been fascinated by Tyson and cast him in his semi-improvised - and star-studded - 1995 movie Black and White, which satirises rich, white liberal kids who want to be black. The funniest scene has Robert Downey Jnr's sleazy gay character coming on to Tyson: he gets slapped. "I'm from a different culture," says Tyson.

In an interview with Variety magazine, Toback said it would be an honest portrait of the boxer. "The point is not to polish his image or make a cinematic apology, but rather to get a first-hand look at a very complex and epic story."

Toback said he had conducted more than 30 hours of interviews with Tyson. "He was honest about all the things that have highlighted his life, from the bitter divorce, the ear-biting, prison, to his becoming a sex addict. He is self-aware, smart and a totally fractured personality, and he made himself completely vulnerable."

The two films are part of what is a particularly strong year for documentaries. Also showing in Cannes will be Chelsea on the Rocks, Abel Ferrara's documentary tribute to New York's Chelsea Hotel; Marina Zenovich's Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired; and Terence Davies' film on Liverpool, Of Time and the City.