This year, the Festival de Cannes was opened by Bernardo Bertolucci. The Italian Director was awarded an honorary Palme d'or by Gilles Jacob, in the presence of the Jury and the Mistress of Ceremonies, Mélanie Laurent. This year, Cannes has installed a little innovation here and there: As a guest, Egyptian film culture, home of great cinema, has signaled to the world their desire for democracy and freedom and like Tunisia, which will is also present, shows how cinema moves to the rhythm of world events; a feast of selections for film crews to meet each other rather than in competition or rivalry, or the stress of an audience’s reaction; Jean-Paul Belmondo, back in Cannes to receive an ovation from the world of cinema; a Palme d'Or of Honor awarded at the opening ceremony to Bernardo Bertolucci from the Jury President Robert De Niro, as his actor in 1900, will look on with fondness.

Between Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris at the opening of the festival and The Beloved by Christophe Honore closing, Cannes will deploy its charm, its mysteries and traditions: fifty films in the Official Selection. "I stand before you tonight, and seen from here, the cinema is a magical thing." With these words Mélanie Laurent welcomed the Jury presided by Robert de Niro onto the stage of the Grand Théâtre Lumière. At his side, actresses Uma Thurman and Martina Gusman, Hong Kong producer Nansun Shi, the writer Linn Ulmann, Jude Law and directors Johnnie To, Olivier Assayas and Mahamat Saleh Haroun. The young French actress continued, "When you look up the word 'actor' in the dictionary, you find 'Robert de Niro' written there. Take a look for yourselves.

" At that moment, the big screen of the Grand Théâtre Lumière revealed a montage of de Niro's finest performances. Heat, The Godfather, A Bronx Tale and the incomparableTaxi Driver. De Niro himself finally arrived onstage and utters a few words in French. Bernardo Bertolucci on the screening of a restored copy of The Conformist at this 64th edition: "I am delighted because The Conformist hasn't been shown for a long time.

I had complete confidence in the technical team in charge of restoration. Perhaps they should have restored me instead of one of my films! The most interesting thing about this film is that, in order to be like everyone else, the conformist has to turn into a fascist!".The director discusses his 3D film project:"I've seen Avatar and am fascinated by 3D. Why should it be restricted to science-fiction? Ingmar Bergman's Persona (1966) would have been stunning in 3D!"He concludes by analysing Italian cinema: "It has preserved the legacy of new realism, but is now focusing more . Honorary Palme d'or,This recognition is attributed to an important filmmaker, whose work is authoritative but never got a Palme d'or. In the recent past, Woody Allen, in 2002, or Clint Eastwood in 2009, were awarded this distinction by President Gilles Jacob, on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Festival de Cannes. Now, the act becomes tradition and will be annual, taking place at the opening of the event. In 2011, the Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci will receive this honour.

"The quality of his work, which appears today in all its uniqueness and the extent of this work we perceive every day more vividly, the strength of his commitment to cinema and the ties that bind him to Cannes, make Bernaldo Bertollucci the first legitimate recipient." say President Gilles Jacob and Thierry Frémaux General Delegate. The Honorary Palme will be attributed to him Wednesday, May 11, at the Opening Ceremony of the 64th edition of the Festival, in the presence of the Jury chaired by Robert De Niro, who was one of the actors in Novecento (1900).

[photo vanity]

Cannes:  Dying Princess Diana is going to be screened for the first time in a documentary about her fatal crash.