Film fiesta at Cannes

“What is exciting this year is … this clash between established talent and young discoveries,and that is perhaps the heart of the Cannes mission,” festival general delegate Thierry Fremaux said.

But he added a note of caution: “The risk is seeing people make up their minds about the festival after only three days.”

Allen’s romantic comedy Midnight In Paris stars Owen Wilson and Marion Cotillard as well as French first lady Carla Bruni who cancelled an appearance at the red carpet because of “personal reasons,” feeding widespread rumours in the French press that she may be pregnant.

Nonetheless,Angelina Jolie,Brad Pitt,Sean Penn,Penelope Cruz,Robert De Niro,Mel Gibson and Johnny Depp are all likely to walk the red carpet,ensuring intense media interest and large crowds of fans catching a glimpse of their screen idols.

They will be joined by darlings of the European festival circuit — Pedro Almodovar,Nanni Moretti,the Dardenne brothers,Aki Kaurismaki and Lars Von Trier — who are all vying for the coveted Palme d’Or prize for best picture.

Malick is back

So is U.S. veteran Terrence Malick,back in the limelight with only his fifth feature,the eagerly anticipated The Tree Of Life in which Pitt and Penn star in a family saga set in the American Midwest during the 1950s.

Women directors feature more prominently in the main competition than usual,although they still only account for four of 20 entries.

Scotland’s Lynne Ramsay presents We Need To Talk About Kevin,based on Lionel Shriver’s bestselling novel and Australian Julia Leigh directs Sleeping Beauty,described as a “haunting erotic fairy tale”. French actress Maiwenn Le Besco brings Polisse,about a photographer who has an affair with a policeman,and Japan’s Naomi Kawase presents Hanezu No Tsuki,four years after her The Mourning Forest that won the runner-up Grand Prix award in 2007.

Belgium’s Dardenne brothers have a chance to become the first directors to scoop the Palme d’Or three times with The Kid With A Bike and festival favourite Almodovar will aim to lift his first Golden Palm with The Skin I Live In.

Denmark’’ Von Trier is in competition with Melancholia,starring Kirsten Dunst as a bride celebrating her marriage as a planet threatens to collide with Earth.

Cannes features blockbuster sequels Kung Fu Panda 2 starring Jolie and Jack Black,and Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides with Depp and Cruz.

And politics will also play its part in the festival,chiefly with La Conquete (The Conquest),a biopic about French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 election win and the collapse of his previous marriage to Cecilia.