World's mega film festival begins at Cannes!

The much-awaited Cannes Film Festival is all set to begin today with the screening of Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, starring Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (France's first lady, wife of President Nicolas Sarkozy)! The Festival de Cannes will be held from May 11th to May 22nd. The mouth watering line-up of movies that will be screened also includes Michael Hazanavicius' French film, The Artist, which is creating much buzz for being a silent movie, set in Hollywood during the transition from silent films to sound. Another highly-anticipated film is The Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. Also making the list is the much-awaited next instalment of the Pirates' franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides starring Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz.

The other big names showcasing their wares will be Gus Van Sant with Restless, Pedro Almodovar with La Piel que Habito (The Skin I Live In); Lars Von Trier with Melancholia, the Dardenne brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc with Le Gamin au Velo; Japanese horror guru Takashi Miike with Ichemel (Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai) and Italian comic/ communist guru Nani Moretti, with Habemus Papam (We Have a Pope), and upcoming hotshot Paolo Sorrentino's This Must Be the Place.

Amidst all this fun and fanfare, India will also mark its presence at the festival with three Indian beauties Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Freida Pinto and Sonam Kapoor, walking the red carpet as brand ambassadors of a cosmetics company. Aishwarya says, "Being at Cannes for L'Oreal Paris has been an absolute pleasure and to experience this for the tenth consecutive year is overwhelming. It is one of the most glamourous red carpets on the world platform, celebrating cinema, showbiz, beauty, diversity and excellence. Several countries have always had more than one spokeswoman at Cannes and I'm glad India is finally getting the same recognition. I am happy that with Sonam and Freida, both beautiful women, have being invited to the festival this year, India will have a stronger presence, which is a clear sign of the growing importance of the country."

Also bolstering India's presence at Cannes will be the screening of a special documentary 'Bollywood - The Greatest Love Story Ever Told', made under the collaboration of UTV and Shekhar Kapur, on a special invitation of Cannes Festival director Thierry Fremaux. This 81-minute film will be screened as a part of the official selection for the 'out of competition' section.