Daring: Jury member Kate Beckinsale shows off her long legs in a slashed Balmain dress as she attends the Biutiful premiere at the Palais des Festivals during the Cannes Film FestivalKate Beckinsale's role at this year's Cannes Film Festival involves assessing the films for the prestigious Jury Prize.
But while she may be there to judge the work of her peers, there is no escaping the fact that she is herself a movie star.
And as such she has been competing for attention on the red carpet with the stars of the films she is judging, last night outdoing the cast of Biutiful in a daring Balmain dress slashed high up the thigh.
Helping hand: Kate keeps her balance as she navigates the stairsThe shimmering midnight blue gown showed off 36-year-old Kate's long slender legs, accentuated by her sky high heels.
Also on the red carpet was the ever youthful Naomi Campbell, whose gold gown flattered her model figure.
Slovakian model Adriana Karembeu wore a fairytale ballgown of soft grey tulle, topped with a layer of sequinned beads.
Fashion icon: Supermodel Naomi Campbell shimmers in a gold beaded dress and matching clutchJoining them at the premiere was Naomi Watts, who stars in Woody Allen's new film You Will Meet A Talk Dark Stranger.
Biutiful stars Penelope Cruz's squeeze Javier Bardem as a father of two making ends meet by acting as business middleman for African and Chinese immigrants in Barcelona.
Unlike director Alejandro Gonzalez InarrituInarritu's previous efforts - including critical favorites Amores Perros and Babel - which divided on-screen time between the protagonists of the various tangled plotlines, Biutiful focuses unblinkingly on Bardem.
Classic black: Naomi Watts chose a floor-length gown, with plunging backIt doggedly follows the Oscar-winning Spanish actor's character as he coddles and cajoles his children, struggles to keep a healthy distance form his estranged, bipolar wife and alternatively defends and menaces the immigrants he works with.
Biutiful is one of 19 movies competing for the festival's top Palme d'Or prize.
Also premiering last night was Countdown To Zero, which attracted actress Meg Ryan
Fairytale: Slovakian fashion model Adriana Karembeu in a pale grey gown, wore her blonde hair piled highThe documentary by British director Lucy Walker focuses on the risks of nuclear proliferation and on attitudes towards nuclear weaponry in the wake of the Cold War.
It features interviews with past world leaders such as Tony Blair, Mikhail Gorbachev and Jimmy Carter, as well as international experts, as it investigates the possibility that an accident, miscalculation or terrorist activity could trigger mass destruction.
The film's message is that of international campaign Global Zero, which calls for the gradual elimination of nuclear weapons.
The festival continues until May 23.
Pretty in purple: Hollywood's sweetheart Meg Ryan at the premiere of Countdown To Zero and Swedish actress Helena Mattsson in midnight bluesource: dailymail