The 60th Cannes Festival

The 60th annual Cannes Film Festival opened yesterday as a celebration of celluloid and celebrity, with a lineup including George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Michael Moore and Quentin Tarantino.

The Hong Kong based Director Wong Kar-wai opened the festival Wednesday with "My Blueberry Nights", his first English-language film and the acting debut of singer Norah Jones, who stars as a heartbroken waitress alongside Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Rachel Weisz.

Wong will be joined by several other returning Cannes veterans - four of the 22 directors competing for the coveted Palme d'Or have won the top prize before: Tarantino's gory 'Death Proof' is in the running, as are the Coen brothers' Rio Grande thriller 'No Country for Old Men', Gus Van Sant's 'Paranoid Park' and 'Promise Me This' from Sarajevo-born Emir Kusturica.

The following are among the most-anticipated films: 'Persepolis', an animated adaptation of Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel about growing up after Iran's Islamic revolution; 'The Edge of Heaven' by Turkish-German director Fatih Akin; 'The Man From London' by Hungary's Bela Tarr; and Mexican director Carlos Reygadas' Mennonite melodrama 'Stellet Licht' (Silent Light).

Between now and May 27th, the red carpet on Cannes' beachfront Croisette will glitter with celebrities. George Clooney is due to promote 'Ocean's Thirteen'. Leonardo DiCaprio brings environmental documentary 'The 11th Hour'. Brad Pitt and Jolie are expected to be there - he for 'Ocean's Thirteen', she for 'A Mighty Heart', in which she plays the widow of slain journalist Daniel Pearl.

Michael Moore's 'Sicko', a documentary taking the pulse of the U.S. health care system, is getting its world premiere in an out-of-competition slot. Moore won Palme d'Or in 2004 for 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.