The Cannes Film Festival got rolling on Wednesday with a strong day for female representation, including the new "Mad Max", a Meryl Streep masterclass and the leading figure of France's #MeToo movement, reports BSS.

"Furiosa", the latest instalment of the post-apocalyptic "Mad Max" franchise, features Anya Taylor-Joy in the blood-splattering lead role, playing alongside "Thor" star Chris Hemsworth.

Taylor-Joy plays a younger version of the character portrayed by Charlize Theron in the previous film, "Fury Road".

Meanwhile, two very different stories about women kicked off the race for the festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or.

"The Girl with the Needle" is billed as the story of a Danish woman who set up an underground adoption agency after World War I.

And "Wild Diamond" follows a French teenager seeking fame and recognition by applying for a reality TV show, from first-time director Agathe Riedinger.

- Streep masterclass –

One of the most iconic women in cinema, Meryl Streep, will also be delivering a masterclass, a day after receiving an honorary Palme d'Or at the opening ceremony.

"I'm just so grateful that you haven't gotten sick of my face," Streep, 74, joked to the audience, as she received her honorary Palme d'Or from French actor Juliette Binoche.

And there is a screening of a short film about sexual abuse, "Moi Aussi" ("Me Too") by French actor Judith Godreche.

She has become a leading figure in France's #MeToo movement after accusing two directors of assaulting her when she was a teenager in the 1980s – even appearing before the Senate this year to call for greater protections on film sets.

It comes amid a wave of new allegations in France, most notably against veteran actor Gerard Depardieu, and persistent rumours that more big names will face accusations.

Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan