The Ali G, Borat and Bruno star, who turned up in military regalia at the Oscars and pretended to pour the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's ashes onto an interviewer, has already premiered his movie and is in Cannes simply to cause a stir.

He turned up at the festival in a "mankini" in 2006 to promote Borat.

Twenty-two films - none of which was directed by a woman - are vying for the coveted Palme d'Or award at the festival's glitzy gala finale on May 27.

Palme d'Or-winner Nanni Moretti of Italy heads up a nine-strong jury, including actor Ewan McGregor and fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier, which will decide the winner.

Moretti was due to hold a news conference later on Wednesday ahead of the evening’s opening ceremony.

Two US mavericks are running for Cannes gold: Lee Daniels's keenly awaited The Paperboy stars Kidman opposite John Cusack and Zac Efron in the tale of a reporter investigating a Death Row case.

The second is Jeff Nichols, whose Mud, about two teenage boys who form a pact with a fugitive, was a surprise entry.

Among the European giants, Austria's Haneke will show Amour (Love), starring Isabelle Huppert as the daughter of a woman hit by a stroke.

And Palme-winning Iranian Abbas Kiarostami returns at 71 with Like Someone in Love, a story set in Japan about a student who works as a prostitute.

Last year's jury, chaired by Robert De Niro, crowned Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life, starring Pitt and Sean Penn.

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