Isabelle Huppert, the award-winning French actress, urged Myanmar women wanting to make it in the world of cinema to go for it, as she added star power to Yangon's MEMORY! film festival.

The Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee took to the red carpet at Friday's opening night held at the city's recently-restored oldest cinema. Bats wheeled round the downtown colonial-era theatre as Huppert's 1995 movie "La Ceremonie" opened the 10-day event.

The actress, who has eight of her films showing at the festival, described how all her movies speak about the "feminine condition" and what it means to be a woman fighting to survive.

"I would say I've always been a feminist without knowing it," she said, urging Myanmar women wanting to get into cinema to go ahead and believe in themselves. "You have to overcome so many obstacles in life that you mustn't create them yourself."

This is the seventh edition of the MEMORY! film festival, which this year boasts some 70 movies in its bid to bring worldwide and regional cinema to Myanmar's public.

As the country gears up to celebrate a century of filmmaking next year, the event also features screenings of painstakingly-restored Myanmar classics.

(With input from AFP)