The 59th Cannes Film Festival, one of the most prestigious international celluloid extravaganzas, opened today in France, with the opening ceremony followed by a screening of Ron Howard's blockbuster The Da Vinci Code.

Veteran director Wong Kar-Wai from China's Hong Kong is president of this year's judging panel and China's mainland star Zhang Ziyi has also been selected as one of the nine-jury members.

"Every city has its differentiating language," said Wong. "For Cannes, it's dreams. The jury members and I are all expected to share the dreams of the world's most talented filmmakers." Wong himself won Best Director award with Happy Together in 1997.

The 19 films competing for the Golden Palme or Palme d'Or include Pedro Almodovar's Volver, Andrea Arnold's Red Road and Sofia Coppola's Marie-Antoinette, and Lou Ye's Summer Palace, the only Chinese and Asian movie. This movie tells a story set in the 1980s about the complex relationship between two art students. In 2003 Lou's feature film Purple Butterfly starring Zhang Ziyi and Liu Ye was entered in the best film competition.

On May 16, Nai An of the film production company Dream Factory said that they were still awaiting approval from China Film Bureau which is affiliated to China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT). The film is scheduled to be screened on May 18, but if the censors turn it down, they would not insist on entering the competition at the cost of giving up the domestic market.

Summer Palace

In the Un Certain Regard section, two Chinese films are on the list: Gwai Wik directed by Oxide Pang Chun & Danny Pang from Hong Kong and Wong Chao's Luxury Car which follows an old man going to the big city in search of his son. On the Out of Competition section Hong Kong auteur Johnnie To and China's Taipei director Su Chao Pin booked their berths with Election 2 and Guisi.

Non-competition showings of Chinese films include Perhaps Love by Peter Chan, A Chinese Tall Story by Jeffrey Lau and Isabella by Ho Cheung Ping. Also Feng Xiaogang's first costume epic The Banquet has been chosen as the opening film for overseas buyers. A 1.5-minute trailer will be released on May 22.

The Best Picture award will be announced on May 28.

(China.org.cn by Li Xiao May 17, 2006)