Reuters has an additional report from Cannes:

Nearly a dozen directors who embraced the new technology gathered to discuss its wonders at the festival and Lucas, the biggest convert and a virtual spokesman for the development, lauded its virtues.

"In effect, digital democratizes the filmmaking industry," said the blockbuster director, whose "Clones" has earned $116 million since its launch last week.

The low cost and high quality of even hand-held digital cameras has made potential movie makers of everyone. The fact the images can be viewed and edited almost immediately has made post-production cheaper and quicker.

"Digital says you can do whatever you want to do. If you want to shoot a Roman epic, you can shoot a Roman epic, because it's going to cost a lot less than it ever would have done," Lucas said.

While cinematographers say digital does not offer the same depth of field and texture as celluloid, backers say its huge versatility outweighs its limitations.

And movie-goers say seeing a digitally shot film in a digitally projected cinema offers a whole new silver screen experience, because it makes possible a greater array of special effects with images and sound.