REEL NEWS:While enjoying a cup of strong coffee at the back of the Palais, the beached aircraft carrier where all the action takes place, this writer spied a noisy man in a wheelchair being transported from limousine to discrete VIP entrance.

It was Bernardo Bertolucci. The director of The Conformist, Spider's Stratagemand Last Tango in Pariswas in town to accept an honorary Palme d'Or. Speaking at a press conference, the director, who seems in good spirits despite his ambulatory difficulties, confirmed that he is joining the worrying band of prestige directors – Wim Wenders, Martin Scorsese, Werner Herzog – who are prepared to dally with 3D.

The peculiarly named Io e Teis based on an acclaimed novel by Niccolò Ammaniti, and tells the story of an adolescent who hides in the basement after informing his parents he's gone on a skiing trip.

"I wondered, why is 3D just being used for horror, science fiction or these kinds of movies?" he said.