Chris O'dowd's 'Sapphires' Taking Huge Plaudits At Cannes

It's been a successful week for Australia at the prestigious Cannes International Film Festival and, most heart-warming of all, it would appear that Aborigine film 'Sapphires', starring Chris ODowd is going to be the most popular of the bunch, after wowing critics with its showing on the south coast of France.

The film was screened out of competition at the weekend, reports The Associated Press. The movie is a feel-good feature and a directorial debut for director Wayne Blair. The plotline goes that an all-girl singing group are plucked from a remote Aborigine community to play for Australian troops serving in Vietnam. The film could well be a tonic in relations between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians which, although greatly improved over the past 30 years, are still somewhat uneasy.

Australians in general are enjoying a high profile in Cannes this year; mega star Nicole Kidman stars in 'The Paperboy' by US director Lee Daniels as well as Philip Kaufman's 'Hemingway And Gellhorn,' which will be shown out of competition. Elsewhere, singing star Kylie Minogue stars opposite Eva Mendes in 'Holy Motors' while, behind the camera, two Australian directors Andrew Dominik and John Hillcoat are competing for the top Palme d'Or prize with their films 'Killing Them Softy' and 'Lawless' respectively. C'mon the Oz!