At a press conference today, The Queen director Stephen Frears, who is this year's Cannes jury president, said the British government needed to do more to support the home-grown film industry.

He said: "The fact that there are no British films here is of no significance at all. Does the British government support film? Clearly not enough.

"I believe the new tax arrangements are now in place so I imagine that will now make life easier, better. It's very difficult for British film-makers and anything that makes their life easier is good."

He said cinema had become "self conscious", adding, "when I was a child directors were invisible".

"A lot of good films are made in Britain. The truth is you spend your life working in a world that's clearly dominated by American cinema.

"I love American films like everyone else. It's a fact of life and you have to live with it."

But he added: "Thank goodness there's demand for an alternative type of film an alternative to the American cinema. I'm pleased all kinds of films are being made."

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