Keep up-to-date with the glitz and glamour of this year’s Cannes Film Festival with our BBC News reporter Fiona Pryor.
THURSDAY, 13 MAY. 1900 LOCAL TIME (1800BST)
I’ve been to see my third film of the day, The Housemaid, directed by South Korea’s Im Sang-Soo.
It is based on a 1960 movie of the same name which I’ve never seen, but this version completely blew me away. Not knowing the story, I wasn’t prepared for the ending.
Definitely a strong contender for the Palme D’Or in my opinion.
THURSDAY, 13 MAY. 1820 LOCAL TIME (1710BST)
Not everyone who comes to Cannes is lucky enough to have access to all the screening and parties. Many people travel here in the hope they can blag their way into an official event.
The done thing seems to be holding up a sign asking for tickets – a kind of posh begging.
Kader and Antoine caught my eye as they were willing to exchange hugs for tickets. I couldn’t help (my press pass is my ticket and I’m certainly not giving that away) but they gave me a hug anyway!
THURSDAY, 13 MAY. 1420 LOCAL TIME (1320BST)
Imagine having £70,000 in savings and then ploughing it all into a low budget movie – withouth knowing how it would take off.
Well that’s exactly what actor and director Warren Speed from Newcastle did (against his wife’s better judgement).
Zombie Women of Satan is out on DVD in the UK next month and Warren and his team are out in Cannes…dressed in character trying to sell it to other countries. Oh, and wife Michelle likes the movie and says it’s worth the gamble.
THURSDAY, 13 MAY. 1300 LOCAL TIME (1200 BST)
I am well and truly into the swing of things here!
Benda Bilili was brilliant – a compelling story of Congolese street musicians, which took five years for directors Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaye to make.
After meeting the titular band and hearing their music, the film-makers decided to help the group, who were still living on the streets, make an album.
Half of the group are in wheelchairs and they spend their time travelling around rehearsing on the streets – some with custom-made instruments.
I don’t want to ruin the film, but if you have a Glastonbury or Womad ticket then keep an eye out for them. A great start to the 42nd Directors Fortnight.
Meanwhile, Tournee (On Tour) was the first film to be screened in the official competition. Quantum Of Solace baddie Mathieu Amalric directed, wrote and starred in the movie, about a group of US Burlesque dancers touring around France.
He plays Joachim, a former television producer, who brings the curvaceous American showgirls to France with romantic promises of a grand tour culminating in Paris.
In a case of life mirroring art, Amalric hand-picked some real-life dancers to appear in the film and brought them all the way to Cannes for today’s screening.
Their names are reminiscent of Bond girls – Mimi Le Meaux, Dirty Martini – but they got to perform their own routines in the movie.
Afterwards, the director revealed his first cut had been three hours long and it was a "terrible moment" when he had to start editing it down.
But being nominated for the Palme d’Or, he said, was "the icing on the cake".
THURSDAY, 13 MAY. 1250 LOCAL TIME (1150 BST)
Some Cannes controversy now. Algerian film-maker Rachid Bouchareb has written to the festival calling for "mutual respect" and a "calm climate" when his movie Hors La Loi (Outside the Law) is screened.
His plea comes after French war veteran groups threatened to demonstrate outside the Palais des Festivals.
Hors La Loi is about three Algerian brothers who become involved in the movement for Algerian independence. French right-wing political figures have criticised it for its depiction of the country’s role in the war – which ended with Algeria’s independence in 1962.
Rachid says that "cinema must be able to broach all subjects".
Another movie that has made headlines is Draquila, which debuts later today. Italy’s culture minister Sandro Bondi said he would boycott Cannes because the movie criticises Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s handling of the relief efforts for the L’Aquila earthquake last year.
Despite that, the movie – whose title is a compression of the words Dracula and Aquila – has been a big success at the box office in Italy.
Comparing herself to Michael Moore, director Sabina Guzzanti told Variety: "I make movies; not documentaries. My main goal was to understand what was going on. To be rigorous in my research, to try to be objective. But, of course, this reflects my viewpoint."
THURSDAY, 13 MAY. 0900 LOCAL TIME (0800 BST)
So, last night was the grand opening of this year’s festival and thousands turned out to greet the stars on the red carpet, including Eva Longoria Parker, Salma Hayek and Dame Helen Mirren.
But it was Kate Beckinsale – who turned up in a pale blue Marchesa gown that looked good enough to eat that, for me, stole the show. Or at least the red carpet!
One person who was missing from the line up was Robin Hood director Sir Ridley Scott, who according to reports is recovering from knee surgery.
But the rest of the A-list clientele more than made up for it. judging by the sea of flashbulbs.
Today I’m off to see my first film of the festival – after all this is what it is all about.
It’s a documentary called Benda Bilili, which is about a homeless band from the Congo and how they struggled to live on the streets whilst still making music.
WEDNESDAY, 12 MAY. 1745 LOCAL TIME (1645 BST)
The main roads in Cannes have now closed down and thousands of people are lining the streets, waiting for a glimpse of Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett.
Their movie, Robin Hood, was screened earlier today – with the general feeling that it was good, but not as good as Crowe’s first collaboration with Sir Ridley Scott, Gladiator.
Sir Ridley, by the way, can’t be here for the premiere. He’s having a knee operation.
Crowe, meanwhile, is on bullish form – batting away questions about plans for a Robin Hood sequel with a cheeky smile.
"Obviously there’s a figure in the studio heads’ mind," he told reporters.
"If we pass a certain figure then they’ll give us a call and say, ‘well, tell the second part of the story’, but there’s no grand plan in that regard. We don’t have two other scripts under Ridley’s hospital bed."
While we wait for the talent to arrive, there are a few distractions to keep us entertained… I am stood next to a street artist dresssed as Puss In Boots, who is playing with two very tame cats!
WEDNESDAY, 12 MAY. 1415 LOCAL TIME (1315 BST)
Tim Burton and the rest of the jury have just met the press, as they prepare for the mammoth task of watching all 19 films competing for the Palme d’Or.
If past years are anything to go by, they’ll make a shortlist, then rewatch the remaining contenders again – maybe multiple times – before they make their final decision.
Burton says he told his fellow panellists to "feel the films" and "be open".
Kate Beckinsale, sitting beside him at the press conference, looked radiant – especially considering she’d had a fraught journey to Cannes because of the ash cloud.
The actress revealed she’d managed to miss last night’s arrival dinner and was worried her fellow judges "would hate her for being late".
WEDNESDAY, 12 MAY. 1245 LOCAL TIME (1145 BST)
Just slipped onto a rather exclusive yacht to meet the big boss of a 3D company. XPand is the official technical provider of 3D at the festival this year. CEO Maria Costeira tells me there are 37 screenings of 3D films in Cannes – but no big Hollywood blockbusters, unlike last year when Pixar’s Up opened the event.
Maria is promoting the world’s first set of universal 3D glasses. It’s all very technical, but basically they can be used on any 3D TV or cinema worldwide. They can be customised, too, to save you looking "like a frog" when at the cinema (Maria’s words, not mine).
Expect them to hit UK shores from August, although apparently some schools have already started using them as part of Biology lessons. Presumably to look at a frog.
WEDNESDAY, 12 MAY. 1230 LOCAL TIME (1130 BST)
Russell Crowe and co are in town! I know that, not because I’ve seen them with my own eyes (yet) but because I could hear all the photographers screaming at them.
I was denied access to the official Robin Hood photo call, so I had to make do with standing outside – with hundreds of others who’d been kept out – listening to the screams and hollers as the Hollywood A-listers had had their pictures taken.
In other news, I’ve had my first taste of what people here will do to get noticed… ANYTHING!
Earlier, I was handed a flyer by a man dressed up as a knight in shining armour. It turns out he’s written a film – My Guaranteed Student Loan – and is trying to promote the movie, which is "for sale on the market".
It stars Academy Award-winning actress Celeste Holm (Gentlemen’s Agreement, All About Eve) and Richard Pryor Jr.
In a nutshell, it’s a comedy about a US college student who makes a bet one Halloween night that could change his life forever.
As for the costume, Dexter Warr says "baby powder is the secret" to slipping it on.
TUESDAY, 11 MAY. 1630 LOCAL TIME (1530 BST)
Despite warnings that the pesky ash cloud might disrupt flights to the south of France, I have made it to Cannes… along with thousands of other journalists, producers, directors and assorted hangers-on.
Strolling around, trying to get my bearings, it seems that mother nature’s attempt to steal the lead role – by gatecrashing the town under the guise of a torrential storm – is well and truly over.
As promised, locals and festival organisers have managed to piece the town back together and everything is back on track for one of the biggest events in the film calendar.
The sun is beaming and the sea is calm, awaiting the arrival of Russell Crowe and his merry men on French turf tomorrow, where they will open the festivities with their retelling of the legend of Robin Hood.
Send us your messages for Fiona, and tell us what you think of the films competing for this year’s Palme d’Or.
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