The Moulin Rouge team will of course inaugurate the red carpet. Director Baz Luhrmann (Romeo and Juliet) is expected to be flanked by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman (who will not have Tom at her side). The couple Sean Penn and Robin Wright will be presenting Penn's third directorial work, The Pledge, while the festival is paying tribute to director Francis Ford Coppola who is likely to show up with other family members, especially his son Roman presenting his first feature (out of competition), CQ. And there will also be the trio Joel Coen and wife Frances McDormand with producer brother Ethan for The Man Who Wasn't There. Another couple sure to make an appearance is Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman presenting Hawke's first directorial debut Chelsea Walls (Directors' Fortnight) featuring his wife Uma among others, shot at the famous NY hotel in DV. But the family ties stop there, as Tim Robbins & Patricia Arquette starring in Human Nature directed by Michael Gondry will have to get on without their respective partners, Susan Sarandon and Nicolas Cage, who are not expected to show up.

The Line-up for the two official selections - Competition and Certain Regard - was shared with the press today in the presence of the trio Gilles Jacob, Thierry Fremeau and Veronique Cayla. Both selections highlight well known veterans sprinkled with some newcomers. As for Liv Ullmann's jury members, they include three actresses: Charlotte Gainsbourg & Sandrine Kiberlain from France and Julia Ormond from the UK. Philippe Labro (France) is the one writer among a gang of directors: Moufida Tlatli (Tunisia), Mimmo Calopresti (Italy), Terry Gilliam (US), Mathieu Kassovitz (France) and Edward Yang (Taiwan).
Having viewed the more than 400 features submitted, the six-member Critics Week committee chose the seven films to represent young talent from all over the world. According to Mr. Riba, no women directors are on the list nor any country favored because no such criteria is a factor, but rather the quality of the films.
The last section to announce their line-up was the Directors Fortnight (May 26). Of the 21 feature films selected, 18 are world premieres and 11 are first films in competition for the Camera d'Or. Thirteen countries are represented with the US and France screening the most number of films.

From the beach to the red carpet, not forgetting the stars, a clip of Cannes 2000 highlights in anticipation of the year 2001 edition. In case you're wondering what the Riviera city looks like two weeks before the biggest festival in the world unfolds, check out this video fresh from Cannes. Two new directors joined Gilles Jacob for the year 2001 event, each bringing their visions and new orientations: Thierry Fremaux, Artistic Director & Veronique Cayla, Managing Director.

Chelsea Walls, Ethan Hawke's directorial debut, has been accepted for competition at Cannes in the Certain Regard section, sources told The Hollywood Reporter. The film, shot over two weeks on digital film, stars a cast of more than thirty characters including partner Uma Thurman, Marisa Tomei, Christopher Walken, Natasha Richardson, Kris Kristofferson, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Steve Zahn.
The film was inspired by Dylan Thomas' play "Under Milk Wood" and follows five intersecting stories. The film was shot on budget--under $150,000--at the infamous Chelsea Hotel in New York, home to Sid And Nancy. Hawke's film will qualify for a number of prizes since it is a low-budget film and is his first film as director.

The short film jury - which bestows the Palm d’Or to the best short as well as three Cinefondation awards to the best from film schools - will be presided by Eric Zonca, director of Dreamlife of Angels that won a Best Actress award for its two leading ladies at Cannes 98. The five-member jury will be completed with actress Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and directors Samira Makhmalbaf (won the Jury Prize for Blackboards last year), Lynne Ramsay (won the Second Short Film award for Gasman at Cannes 98) and Rithy Panh (presented in the 1998 Certain Regard section).
Maria de Medeiros, who presented Captains of April last year is to head the Camera d’Or jury, which honors the Best First Feature Film chosen from amongst any of the sections at the festival. Finally, The hostess with the mostest, who will present the opening and closing ceremonies at Cannes 2001, goes to the British-born, French-adopted actress Charlotte Rampling, recently admired in Under the Sand by Francois Ozon, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last September.

British director Ken Loach, whose career got a boost at the Cannes Film Festival in 1970 with his movie Kes, will this year be the patron for the Critics' Week sidebar at the international festival. The Critics' Week celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, but the tradition of assigning a patron to the sidebar only began last year with Bernardo Bertolucci. Loach's participation will focus around two events on May 13: the screening of Kes and a filmmaking workshop. The festival runs from May 9 to 20.

Much to the disappointment of Cannes film festival organizers, Jodie Foster has pulled out as president of the jury, citing a clash with her upcoming film commitments. The actress agreed at the last minute to replace Nicole Kidman in David Fincher's next project, and shooting of the film continues into the festival, which runs from May 9 to 20. In a statement, Foster said she was "mortified" for letting down the festival organizers, and expressed hope that she will be asked to preside over Cannes in the future.