A special tribute is to be made to French actress Fanny Ardant at next month's Cannes film festival and she will get a special slot for her directorial debut.

Ardant, 60, was one of the leading stars of European cinema in the 1980s. She was the last companion of "New Wave" director Francois Truffault, who died in 1984.

Her first film, "Cendres et Sang" (Ashes and Blood), is to be screened out of competition on the eve of the finale of the 12-day movie bonanza.

Starring Israeli actress Ronit Elkabetz, the film is about a woman who returns to Marseille in France with her children following an 18-year absence, after the death of her husband.

Ardant has starred in five films screened at Cannes in the last few years, including movies by Margarethe Von Trotta, Ettore Scola and most recently Claude Lelouch's "Roman de Gare" in 2007.

She will also be in front of the camera this year in Tsai Ming-liang's "Visage", one of 20 films competing for the Palme d'Or.