Kanye West will debut a short film titled “Cruel Summer” at the Cannes Film Festival.

The rapper announced Friday that he’ll present the film on Wednesday at the French festival. West and his creative collective DONDA will screen the “short art film” out of competition in Cannes.

West’s press release promises “a fusion of short film and art installation” and an “immersive seven-screen experience.” It will remain open to the public for two days following its premiere.

West has previously directed music videos for his music, including 2010′s “Runaway.”

CANNES, France — It’s not just film stars who are flocking to Cannes. Music types can’t resist either.

Anyone strolling along the city’s famed Croisette promenade on Thursday afternoon was treated to a free show from LMFAO as they sound-checked and practiced how to rock Cannes in the bright Riviera sunshine.

The American dance music duo, Redfoo and Sky Blu, were to perform Thursday night at a stage on the beach. Redfoo was seen doing his trademark “shufflin’” on stage in animal-print pants.

The film festival in the south of France always draws in plenty of top recording stars: Diddy, Kylie Minogue, Cheryl Cole, Cyndi Lauper and Simple Minds are all attending this year. And Lana Del Ray made an appearance on opening night at the gala for “Moonrise Kingdom.”

The festival runs until May 27.

CANNES, France — If there were a prize for most topical movie at the Cannes Film Festival, it would go to Egyptian entry “After the Battle,” whose completion, its director says, is a political act in itself.

Yousry Nasrallah’s film is set after last year’s overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak. It was filmed in the streets of Cairo while the uprising and its uncertain aftermath were still unfolding, with a cast that mixes professionals and non-actors.

The director said Thursday that making the movie had been an act of faith in art “at a time when the cinema is being attacked in Egypt as a sin.”

“(The) arts are being criticized by the Islamist parties, and my commitment and the commitment of the actors … was a commitment in favor of the cinema,” said Nasrallah, whose film “Gate of the Sun” screened at Cannes in 2004.

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CANNES, France — There’s vintage fashion and there’s ancient fashion — and Chinese actress Fan Bingbing tapped into the latter for the opening of the Cannes Film Festival.

The Chinese actress wore an elegant pale strapless gown by her friend Christopher Bu, decorated with bright floral designs and traditional Ting dynasty stories. Inspired by a porcelain vase, the ancient vibe of her dress was complimented by her hair, which was pinned to look like a young girl from the Tang dynasty.

Fan says she selected the style of these long-gone eras because she didn’t want a “normal, elegant” red carpet look for the festival’s famous steps. She wanted “something special.”

Fan wore her China tribute to the world premiere of Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom,” which opened the film festival on Wednesday night.

CANNES, France — Clad in a plaid jacket that could have come out of Rodney Dangerfield’s wardrobe in “Caddyshack,” Bill Murray clashed with traditional Cannes fashion but made the most of the film festival in every other way.

Murray has been soaking up the atmosphere on the French Riviera, where he joined other stars for the opening night premiere of Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom.” The 61-year-old actor has been to Cannes before but his attendance is never assured, leaving film publicists to cross their fingers and hope he shows.

But he hit Cannes in high style, first appearing for the Wednesday photo call in the aforementioned jacket, with checkered pants. At the fancier, black-tie premiere, he wore a mangled purple and orange bow tie, reportedly tied by his driver en route to the event.

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CANNES, France — Jacques Audiard’s new movie features poverty, bare-knuckle fighting and a killer whale attack — yet the French director says it’s a sunny romance.

“Rust and Bone” is a love story of jolting twists starring Academy Award-winning French actress Marion Cotillard (“La Vie En Rose”) and Belgium’s Matthias Schoenaerts (“Bullhead”).

Audiard won the Cannes Film Festival’s second prize in 2009 with tough prison drama “A Prophet.” He said “Rust and Bone” was his attempt to make something completely different — “a love story full of light and space.”

The movie is one of the favorites to win prizes when the festival ends May 27. But it sharply divided journalists Thursday, with opinions ranging from “terrible” to the best film of the year.

Diane Kruger must have arrived in France with a lot of luggage. On Wednesday, Day 1 of the 12-day Cannes Film Festival, Kruger, a member of the prestigious jury, turned up in two different outfits.

She wore an edgy burgundy cocktail dress with a pleated skirt and black cord-laced straps by Versus by Versace for her first photo call, and a fancier, more feminine aqua-colored silk draped dress by Giambattista Valli later for the red-carpet premiere of Moonrise Kingdom.

“This girl knows how to edit herself perfectly,” says designer Rachel Roy, who is keeping tabs on the Cannes fashion show from New York.

Of the aqua gown, Roy says, “The transparency and draping is reminiscent of the Jacqueline Kennedy mint green moment, yet modern. … Pure elegance.”

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CANNES, France — If Nanni Moretti had his way, what happened in Cannes would stay in Cannes.

The Italian director is heading the film festival’s jury and will preside over the annual post-prizes press conference when the movie extravaganza wraps up May 27.

He preferred it in the old days, when jury meetings were a bit like gatherings of the conclave of cardinals who choose Roman Catholic popes.

Then, he said Wednesday, “there were two remaining taboos in the world — the silence after the awards and the conclave. Now it’s just the conclave.”

The jury includes actors Ewan McGregor and Diane Kruger, directors Alexander Payne and Raoul Peck, and fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier. They will choose a winner of the Palme d’Or from among 22 competing films.

CANNES, France — This year’s Cannes Film Festival features directors in their 30s and their 80s, directors from Europe and North America, directors from Asia and the Middle East — but no women.

Not, at least, among the 22 filmmakers competing for the coveted Palme d’Or award. Last year, four female directors made the lineup, including Britain’s Lynne Ramsay and Australia’s Julie Leigh.

The French feminist group La Barbe has taken the festival to task for excluding women with a petition published in the Le Monde and The Guardian newspapers.

Festival director Thierry Fremaux argues it’s not his fault that filmmaking remains primarily “a male sport.” He says he chooses films only “because I think they deserve to be in selection.”

The French Riviera film festival opened Wednesday and runs until May 27.

CANNES, France — The Dictator knows how to make a scene.

Sacha Baron Cohen’s comedy character turned up at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday with two of his model bodyguards and a camel, bringing the famed Croisette promenade to a standstill.

It’s his latest stunt for The Dictator, released May 16, where he plays Admiral General Aladeen, the freedom-hating military dictator of the fictional North African Republic of Wadiya.

The sight of Baron Cohen taking a camel for a stroll along the avenue of designer boutiques, followed by dozens of photographers, bemused locals. He even managed to fall off the camel, which had a “Wadiya 1″ license plate.

Cannes Film Festival, which runs until May 27, is a popular place for promotional stunts.