MUMBAI: Actress Kristin Scott Thomas will open the 63RD edition of the Festival on 12 May by inviting the president Tim Burton and his Jury on stage at the Palais des Festivals.

She will equally animate the closing ceremony when the awards will be announced on 23 May.

Kristin Scott Thomas is re-cast in the role she played in 1999, succeeding Edouard Baer who held the position for two years running in 2008 and 2009.