The Cannes Film Festival has announced the make-up of the main jury for this year's edition.

As reported by Screendaily last week, Indian actress Aishwarya Rai has been confirmed along with American actress Meg Ryan, French actress Karin Viard and French actor and elder-statesman Jean Rochefort.

Also on the panel are American director Steven Soderbergh, Bosnian director Danis Tanovic and Chinese director Jiang Wen.

Rounding out the group is Italian writer Erri De Luca. Patrice Chereau will preside over the jury.

Given the current tensions between the US and France, it's interesting to see the choice of two Americans this year. However, while Ryan has not been a strong Cannes presence in the past, Soderbergh's debut film sex, lies and videotape won the Palme d'Or in 1989 - famously sparking the rise of US independent film.

Tanovic and Jiang are also familiar with the Palais, the former having won the screenwriting prize in 2001 for No Man's Land and the latter having taken home the Grand Jury prize in 2000 for Devils On The Doorstep.

Earlier this week, it was also announced that Italian actress Monica Bellucci will act as mistress of ceremonies for the opening and closing events on May 14 and 25.