Since Ellen Degeneres broke the internet with her celebrity selfie at last year 's Oscars , taking mobile phone snaps on the red carpet has become a must-do for A list stars . But this year 's Cannes Film Festival has been declared a selfie-free zone after organisers asked celebrities to stop taking the 'ridiculous and grotesque ' images . While Cannes director Thierry Fremaux admitted that he did not have the powers to ban the pictures altogether , he urged movie starts to resist the temptation . Scroll down for video . Celebrities have been told to stop taking selfies at this year 's Cannes Film Festival by director Thierry Fremaux ( pictured , models Petra Nemcova , left , and Victoria Bonya and Hofit Golan , right , at last year 's event ) Mr Fremaux said that the 'ridiculous and grotesque ' pictures slowed the entire event down , causing problems for organisers ( pictured , Jeremie Renier takes a selfie at the photocall for Saint Laurent last year ) The Cannes director blasted celebrities such as Rosario Dawson ( left ) and Nabilla Benattias ( right ) who 'stop every two metres to take a picture of themselves , with themselves ' Quoted in the Guardian , he said : 'We do n't want to prohibit it but it 's really a matter of timing . 'We have a certain amount of time to get people across the red carpet and up the steps and it really slows things down if people stop every two metres to take a picture of themselves , with themselves . He added : 'You never look as ugly as you do in a selfie . ' Celebrities who will have to watch their selfie-taking at the 68th ceremony include Cate Blanchett , who stars in a film about lesbian love , and Michael Fassbender , who features in a film based on Shakespeare 's MacBeth . Matthew McConaughey , Charlize Theron , Natalie Portman , Rachel Weisz and Benicio del Toro will also be welcomed to the French riviera when the event gets underway in a month 's time . Mr Fremaux , director of Cannes , said he could not ban the pictures , but said celebrities will be discouraged from taking them . Mr Fremaux today announced 17 films that will be competing for prizes at the May 13-24 festival , chosen from more than 1,800 submissions . Fassbender will star opposite Marion Cotillard star in a film version of Shakespeare 's 'Macbeth ' by Australian director Justin Kurzel . Meanwhile Blanchett stars in Carol , Todd Haynes ’ s adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel about a clandestine lesbian love affair in 1950s New York . Other nominations include Jia Zhangke 'Mountains May Depart , ' Paolo Sorrentino 's 'Youth ' - a film about age starring Michael Caine - and Gus Van Sant 's forest feature 'The Sea of Trees ' . Returning Cannes veterans include 'Gomorrah ' director Matteo Garrone , with 'The Tale of Tales , ' starring John C. Reilly and Salma Hayek ; South Korea 's Kore-eda Hirokazu with sibling saga 'Our Little Sister ' ; and France 's Jacques Audiard with 'Dheepan , ' the story of a Tamil refugee in France . Also in the lineup are films by Italy 's Nanni Moretti and Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien . Cannes organizers have faced criticism for not selecting more films by female directors , but , or the first time in more than 25 years , this year 's festival will be opened by a film by a woman . French director Emmanuelle Bercot 's drama 'La Tete Haute ' ( Head Held High ) , about a teenager steered away from a life of crime by a judge . Two more female filmmakers are in competition : Valerie Donzelli with 'Marguerite and Julien ' and Maiwenn with 'Mon Roi ' ( 'My King ' ) . Both directors are French . Geographically , the entries range from Europe to China , South Korea , the U.S. and Mexico , setting of Denis Villeneuve 's narco-crime drama 'Sicario . ' Ellen Degeneres set the standard for celebrity selfies at last year 's Oscars ceremony when she tweeted this image , which has since be reposted 3.5million times on the social network . Mr Fremaux made the comments at a press conference announcing the films competing in the 68th Cannes festival , which feature stars including Cate Blanchett , Matthew McConaughey and Michael Fassbender . Genres range from drama to martial-arts thriller to science fiction rom-com - in the form of 'The Lobster , ' a film by Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos starring Weisz and Colin Farrell . Fremaux said several more films will be added to the competition before the festival opens . Films in the lineup but not competing for prizes include Woody Allen 's campus comedy 'Irrational Man , ' starring Emma Stone and Joaquin Phoenix , George Miller 's dystopian thriller 'Mad Max : Fury Road ' and Asif Kapadia 's documentary about the late singer Amy Winehouse , 'Amy . ' Pixar , whose buoyant 'Up ' opened the festival in 2009 , returns with 'Inside Out , ' in which an adolescent girl 's thoughts and emotions become animated characters . Actress Portman makes her feature-film directorial debut with ' A Tale of Love and Darkness , ' based on a memoir by Israeli writer Amos Oz . Winners of the Palme d'Or and other prizes will be chosen by a jury led by directors Joel and Ethan Coen . Charlize Theron , Natalie Portman , Rachel Weisz and Benicio del Toro will be among the other stars welcomed to the French riviera when the festival begins next month .
Thierry Fremaux , director of Cannes , aims to make red carpet selfie-free . Said celebrities taking pictures of themselves slows entire event down . Mr Fremaux then added : 'You never look as ugly as you do in a selfie ' Stars featuring at 68th event include Cate Blanchett and Michael Caine .