Filmmakers and movie stars from across the globe are throwing a 60th birthday bash for cinema's greatest showcase, the Cannes Film Festival, which opened Thursday on the French Riviera.
Curtains rose on the 11-day film festival with a screening of Chinese director Wong Kar Wai's film My Blueberry Nights. It is Wong's first English language feature and stars pop singer Norah Jones in her first film role.
Stars slated to appear include Sharon Stone, Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Films from Russia to Mexico and South Korea are set for screening, and Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese has been drafted to teach a master class on movie-making.
Turkish Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk is joining the international jury of actors and directors judging the films.
Past winners of the Cannes Palme d'Or award, directors Quentin Tarantino and the Coen brothers, are entering films in the festival. Russian filmmaker Alexander Sokurov is also competing with a film Alexandra, which is set in Chechnya.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
