Madonna puts faith before film

Madonna was offered a spot on the prestigious Cannes Film Festival jury, but turned it down because she would have missed two Kabbalah meetings back in London.

Her religious obligations represented a no-Cannes- do scenario for festival officials; they would have meant the singer making two trips from the South of France back to London during the festival panel's busiest periods. Madonna has turned down other social engagements in the past because of conflict with her commitment to Kabbalah.

'We talked about her being on the jury, but her religion meant this could not happen. It is a regret because she has valuable knowledge,' festival chief Thierry Fremaux told me.

'She would have to return to London every Saturday, or maybe it was every Friday, so for two days during our festival she would not be here and that could not work.

'The jury has much to see and much to discuss,' Mr Fremaux added, during a conversation with me at a dinner to launch the 58th festival.

Initial discussions with the Material Girl (as this column was the first to reveal to you a month ago) centred on her taking a documentary film based on her last tour to Cannes, but it was not finished in time.

'We had many talks,' Mr Fremaux said. 'Madonna takes the cinema world seriously, she doesn't treat it in a superficial way. I saw three hours of film from the documentary in the form of rushes and some completed footage, but it wasn't ready,' he explained.

Not only would Madonna's obvious glamour have been most welcome but, as Mr Fremaux remarked, 'to have her on the jury would have been fascinating. She has so many thoughts on her mind.'

Madonna has been a Kabbalist for nearly eight years and attends weekly meetings at the Kabbalah Centre in London.

There are just 14 or so such places scattered around the world, and none in Cannes or the surrounding region.