Heath Ledger 'Imaginarium' Footage Shown in 2009 Cannes' Opening Ceremony

A snippet of "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" shown during the opening ceremony of 2009 Cannes Film Festival has brought forth the first real look at Heath Ledger's final movie performance. In the 15-seconds footage, Ledger is seen portraying lead character Tony in a white suit, wearing also a white mask.

The sneak peek was part of the section wherein a long montage of clips from different films that will be screened in the festival, including Ang Lee's "Taking Woodstock", Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" and Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell". The video of the entire ceremony can be seen via Canal+, while the montage starts on the 21:27 mark.

The 62nd Cannes Film Festival has been kicked off Wednesday, May 13, with Disney/Pixar's animation "Up". Pedro Almodovar's "Broken Embraces", Jane Campion's "Bright Star", Lars von Trier's "Antichrist" and Park Chan-wook's "Thirst" are among the movie lined up for this festival. Jan Kounen's "Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky" will close this French fest. on May 24.

Set in the present day, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" tells the story of Dr Parnassus and his extraordinary 'Imaginarium'. Making deals with the devil long time ago which gives him immortality, he is cursed with a dark secret that jeopardizes his daughter's freedom. Desperate to protect his daughter from her impending fate, he must now find a man that will help him undo the mistakes of his past once and for all.

Expected to be released sometime in 2009, this movie comes from "The Brothers Grimm" director, Terry Gilliam. In early 2008, this drama fantasy has been put in a jeopardy when its leading actor, Ledger, was found dead in his apartment while the production was still halfway through. But with the joining of Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law in place of Ledger's vacant role, it has since been pushed forward.