Yeoh added to Cannes jury

Sharon Stone was Oscar-nominated for Casino

Actresses Sharon Stone and Michelle Yeoh have been selected to take part on the jury of the Cannes film festival.

Acclaimed US director David Lynch will head the panel of nine judges at the festival.

Stone became internationally famous after her role in Basic Instinct and she was also nominated for an Oscar for her part in Martin Scorsese's Casino.

Yeoh is one of the biggest martial arts stars in the world and has starred in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies, as well as the massive international hit Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Michelle Yeoh starred in Tomorrow Never Dies

Joining them on the jury are Indonesian actress Christine Hakim and French directors Claude Miller and Regis Wargnier.

Also judging this year's festival are Danish director Bille August, who directed the 1988 Palme d'Or winner Pelle the Conqueror, Chilean-born director Raoul Ruiz and Brazil's Walter Salles, director of Central Station.

The jury hands out prizes for the Palme d'Or, best performance by an actress and by an actor, the prize for the best director and for the best screenplay.

The jury can also confer, at its own discretion, the Prix du Jury.

Last year, Nanni Moretti won the prestigious Palme d'Or for his film The Son's Room.

The festival's second-highest honour, The Grand Jury prize, went to The Piano Teacher, Austrian director Michael Haneke's tale of a music instructor seduced by a student.

Debut

Lynch won the director's prize at last year's festival for Mulholland Drive, and was also nominated for best director at this year's Oscars.

Film director and actor Woody Allen will open the festival on 15 May with his new comedy, Hollywood Ending.

The star will be visiting the annual French festival in person for the first time, though his films have been screened there many times.

Lynch won best director at Cannes last year

The film stars Allen, Tea Leoni, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, George Hamilton and Treat Williams.

The film will be shown out of competition.

The festival, which is one of the biggest and most glamorous in the world, starts on 15 May and runs for 11 days.

As well as the screenings of movies from all over the world, many directors, producers and writers are at the festival in an attempt to do deals to get movies made.

The festival was first started just after World War II in 1946.