Ewan McGregor joins Cannes Film Festival panel

Actor Ewan McGregor. Credit: YUI MOK/PA WIRE

Trainspotting actor Ewan McGregor may offer tips on how to win the coveted Cannes Film Festival main prize today as he discusses his role as part of the jury panel.

The actor joins actress Diane Kruger and fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier on the jury at this year's festival in the South of France.

The nine-strong group, which also includes Wuthering Heights director Andrea Arnold, will decide which film wins the coveted Palme d'Or. American filmmaker Alexander Payne, whose films include Election and Sideways, is also on the jury.

Among the films in the running for the prestigious prize are David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis and Walter Salles' adaptation of the Beat Generation novel, On The Road, which features Kristen Stewart alongside Sam Riley and Kirsten Dunst.

Veteran director Ken Loach carries British hopes with his new movie about a small-time criminal who is introduced to the world of high-end whisky distilleries.

The Angels' Share is set in Glasgow and stars newcomer Paul Brannigan, Thick Of It actor Roger Allam and John Henshaw from Early Doors.

The Paper Boy, starring Zac Efron, is also in the running. Credit: Reuters

Also competing for the prize are The Paper Boy, which stars John Cusack, Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman, Lawless - a prohibition-era tale of bootleggers in the American south starring Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf and Guy Pearce, and Jeff Nichols' Mud which stars Reese Witherspoon.

The festival, which runs from May 16 to 27, will open with Wes Anderson's new film Moonrise Kingdom, which stars Tilda Swinton alongside Bruce Willis and Bill Murray and is set in New England in the summer of 1965.