The world's biggest film festival kicks off in Cannes today, bringing Hollywood A-listers, obscure arthouse directors, international media and fans together for 12 party-packed days on the French Riviera. Posters are up around the resort town in southern France, marquees line the seafront, yachts are gleaming despite unseasonal drizzle and hotels await their famous guests.

As well as films in the official selection, hundreds more are screened in the bustling market, a key feature that underlines Cannes' importance to the industry. The main competition of 22 films begins with a star-studded premiere of Brazilian entry ?Blindness?, appropriate for a festival that is showcasing South American cinema. The movie directed by Fernando Meirelles is the story of a civilisation crumbling as it is hit by a blindness epidemic.

Originally conceived in 1939 as an alternative to the then-Fascist-influenced Venice Film Festival, Cannes has been held since 1946 apart from 1948 and 1950, when lack of funds led to its cancellation. In 1960, the first Cannes Market opened its doors to some 10 participants and one screen -- a canvas hung from the roof of the old Palais Croisette. It quickly became a major meeting point for world buyers and sellers. In 1968 film director Louis Malle, who was on that year's jury with Roman Polanski, was one of a group of film-makers who forced the festival to close in the midst of the student and worker uprisings across France. After an all-night debate marked by raging tempers and an occasional fistfight, the organisers called it off.

Jane Campion became the first female director to win the Palme d'Or in 1993 for her film The Piano. In 1997 a Palme des Palmes ? a super-version of the Palme d'Or best film prize ? was awarded to Ingmar Bergman for the 50th festival. The Swedish director did not appear. Romanian entry 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days walked away with the 2007 Palme d'Or for best film out of 22 in the main competition, a popular choice after critics had raved about its hard-hitting story simply but powerfully told.