Star-studded Cannes Film Festival opens

Updated: 2016-05-12 07:58

(Agencies)

Actress Gong Li poses on the red carpet as she arrives for the opening ceremony and the screening of the film "Cafe Society" out of competition during the 69th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 11, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

With almost enough star wattage to forget the grim anti-terror measures in place, the Cannes film festival opened on Wednesday with Woody Allen's Cafe Society, starring Kristen Stewart.

The red carpet awaits some of Hollywood's biggest stars, such as Julia Roberts, Jodie Foster, Sean Penn, Robert De Niro, Charlize Theron and George Clooney, as the French Riviera town transforms into the film capital of the world for 12 heady and exhausting days.