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Nicole Kidman's 'Grace of Monaco' to open Cannes Film Festival

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Nicole Kidman's Grace Kelly film, Grace of Monaco, will open the Cannes Film Festival this year.

The movie, which sees Nicole star as Hollywood actress-turned Monegasque royal Princess Grace, will premiere on the first day of the festival in May.

A spokesman for the glamorous gala confirmed that the movie will "be released on the opening day of the Festival, Wednesday 14 May, in France and in several cities around the world."

The luxurious French location is fitting given that American starlet Grace met her future husband Prince Ranier at the Cannes Film Festival in 1955.

The film, which also stars Sir Derek Jacobi, Frank Langella and Tim Roth as Prince Ranier, was originally intended for release at the end of November 2013, before the date was pushed back to 14 March 2014.

Rumours had circulated that the repeated delays were due to disagreements between the film's director, Olivier Dahan, and the filming studio.

The film centres around Grace's life after she married Ranier and retired from acting.

The plot shows the dilemma Grace faced when her former silver screen collaborator, Alfred Hitchcock, offered her a part in his film Marnie.

Following criticism from Monaco's royal family and Grace's three children, Prince Albert, Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie, Nicole and Olivier were prompted to clear up confusion that the film was a biopic.

"This is not a biopic or a fictionalized documentary of Grace Kelly," said Nicole. "But only a small part of her life where she reveals her great humanity as well as her fears, and weaknesses."

"I am not a journalist or historian," said Olivier. "I am an artist. I have not made a biopic. I have done, in any subjectivity, a human portrait of a modern woman who wants to reconcile her family, her husband, her career. But who will give up her career and invent another role. And it will be painful.

"I understand their point of view," Olivier said of Albert, Caroline and Stephanie's criticism. "After all, it is their mother. I do not want to provoke anyone. Only to say that it's cinema."