Demi Moore and Jane Fonda among stars on Cannes red carpet as film festival opens

Stars including Demi Moore, Jane Fonda, James Franco and Elijah Wood walked the red carpet for the opening of the 79th Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday (May 12).

Members of the jury, including award-winning filmmaker Park Chan-wook and Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard, posed for photographs before greeting festival president Irish Knobloch and director Thierry Fremaux at the top of the steps.

"Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson, who received a honorary Palme d'Or award for lifetime achievement during the ceremony, also smiled for photographers on the red carpet.

He was joined by actor Elijah Wood, who catapulted to fame with his role as Frodo Baggins in the "Rings" trilogy.

Academy Award-winning director Bong Joon Ho and Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda also walked the opening ceremony red carpet.

This year’s Cannes Film Festival, which runs until May 23, will pit stalwarts of arthouse cinema such as Poland's Pawel Pawlikowski and Spain's ‌Pedro Almodovar against a small pool of newer voices.

A-listers with films premiering this year include Scarlett Johansson, Rami ​Malek, ⁠Javier Bardem, John Travolta and Lea Seydoux.

Production: Christian Levaux, Will Russell, Francesca Halliwell/Reuters