Parker in town for Angela's Ashes

Alan Parker, whose new film Angela's Ashes starring Robert Carlyle and Emily Watson was expected to be in Competition this year, has been in Cannes for the past few days. Parker is a favoured director at Cannes and has had five films here, so it was a disappointment that the film wasn't finished in time for the Festival. "I came to show my face so there's no nasty rumours put about," he told Moving Pictures.

The film, a Laura Jones adaptation of the Frank McCourt novel, has been held up because the music is not ready; composer John Williams won't have the score finished until the end of June, although Parker is taking the blame for the delay.

The British director won't be hanging around in Cannes for long, though; he has to get back to London today for a big soccer match featuring his team, Arsenal. "It's sad, isn't it," he said, not looking at all sad, "that I'm leaving Cannes for a soccer match…"

* Joan Collins will no doubt sympathise with Parker; the world's most glam granny was due here to promote Clandestine Marriage, with co-star Sir Nigel Hawthorne, but commitments to do voice work as Fred Flintstone's mum for the next stone age frolic clashed.

Festival honors Senegal director

Although already presented in the official programmes at Rotterdam and Berlin, Directors' Fortnight in Cannes decided to include the two parts of Djibril Diop Mambety's unfinished trilogy about 'tales of little people' - La Petite Vendeuse De Soleil (The Little Girl Who Sold The Sun), and its predecessor, Le Franc (The Franc) - in this year's selection.

Unspooling today and tomorrow, as a homage to the Senegalese director, who died in Paris last year, the double-feature will shortly be released in France by Les Films du Paradox. It has been picked up for Scandinavia by Sweden's Willmar Andersson Film, and a deal for Switzerland is about to be closed.

Wonderful Life

Jacques Maillot's Nos Vies Heureuses - screening Thursday in competition - has been making life very happy for Flach Pyramide International. Eric Lagesse, topper at the sales house, tells Moving Pictures that he's sold the film in several European and Asian territories.

Notably, the pic has gone to Italy's Key Films, Spain's Vertigo, Belgium's Les Films de l'Elysee, Film Copi in Switzerland, Solopan in Poland and Spring in Taiwan.

According to Lagesse, the film is selling so well because there is quite a buzz surrounding it. Indeed, Nos Vies is reminiscent of last year's fest darling La Vie Revée Des Anges - the two pics are both from first-time feature directors and star up-and-coming thesps.

Lagesse, who bought the film at the script level, thinks there may be "the same phenomenon as last year. People are really excited for the film and are even buying it based on word of mouth." Fortunately, Lagesse's office is straegically located in front of the Palais for those wishing to live happy.