She will travel the 3,000-mile round trip to the south of France on the back of her husband, Glen's, Harley Davidson motor bike, like the characters in the iconic road movie, 'Easy Rider'.

Dennis Hopper received an award at Cannes in 1969 for his directorial debut.

But all Mairi wants to win is the promise from a movie mogul to shoot their next blockbuster in Moray.

Part of her job with Moray Council is to encourage film and TV producers to film in the area, and she is travelling to the festival as part of a delegation promoting Moray.

The couple set off on their journey on Wednesday, taking their bike to Newcastle and then the ferry to the Netherlands.

Another reason for the trip is to enable them to take part in a huge bikers' convention in St Tropez from May 22-25.

Mairi said: "We are very much into Harley Davidsons, and we are going to a big European rally that will attract 10,000 people.

"That was part of the reason we are taking the bike; we have to get there by some mode of transport, and I'm a bit of a nervous flyer."

Although Mairi does not drive the 1600cc FatBoy motor bike, she is a keen fan, and both she and Glen have taken part in the 'Thunder in the Glen' rallies in Aviemore.

Mairi McIntosh and her husband, Glen, get on their bike and head for the 61st Cannes Film Festival.

Representatives from the Scottish Highlands and Islands Film Commission (SHIFC) regularly attend the festival, highlighting a different part of the region, and this year it is Moray's turn to be in the spotlight.

SHIFC has teamed up with whisky producers Gordon and MacPhail to sponsor the Benromach Villa, which will be used as a platform to promote Moray music, culture, food and drink to the movers and shakers in the film industry until the festival comes to an end on May 25.

More than 300 people have been invited to a Macbeth-themed reception at the Benromach Villa, and there are ambitious plans to make a film about the life of the Scottish king.

Trish Shorthouse, from SHIFC, said: "We must also remember that Cannes is a television as well as a film festival, and the Highlands and Islands is showing up more and more on television, particularly in the form of nature programmes.

"There are some tremendous opportunities for us here."

h.lawson@northern-scot.co.uk

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