France

61st Cannes Film Festival opens to great fanfare

Article published on the 2008-05-14 Latest update 2008-05-15 09:13 TU

The festival opens
(Photo: Cyril Etienne/RFI)

In the French Riviera town of Cannes, stars walked the 26-step red carpet at the opening of the world's most prestigious film festival on Wednesday. American stars Faye Dunaway, Eva Longoria and Julianne Moore made their appearance. Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles is premiering his fim Blindness tonight. He is one of the large contingent of Latin American directors at the 61st annual festival.

This year's jury is headed by US actor and all-around bad boy Sean Penn, who lit up a cigarette during a press conference, even though France has installed strict anti-smoking laws just this year.

"I'm very glad to be here," normally press-shy Penn told the black-tie crowd. "We're going to be sending some love letters to some of those movies. Those who don't get them, don't be discouraged."

Some major films scheduled to be released at Cannes include the fourth chapter of the Indiana Jones venture, featuring 60-something actor Harrison Ford doing his own stunts. It is one of the 22 films in line to win the coveted Palme d'Or prize.