Cannes The world's biggest film festival kicks off today, as Hollywood A-listers, obscure arthouse directors, world media and fans flock for 12 party-packed days on the Riviera.

The main competition begins with the Brazilian entry Blindness, aptly for a festival that is showcasing South American cinema, with the film featured on the official poster for the 61st Cannes festival displayed on top of the Festival Palace, right.

The film, directed by Fernando Meirelles, director of City of God, stars Julianne Moore and Gael García Bernal in a story of a civilisation crumbling as it is hit by an epidemic of blindness.

As well as films in the official selection, hundreds more are also being screened, underlining Cannes's importance to the industry.

The festival ends on May 25, when the coveted Palme d'Or for best film is awarded. Among the other contenders is Clint Eastwood's Changeling, starring Angelina Jolie.

However, the biggest show in town this year is likely to be a film that is not in the competition, the latest instalment of the Indiana Jones series, again starring Harrison Ford as the whip-wielding archaeologist, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull by Steven Spielberg. (Reuters)

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