"Mad Max" creator George Miller will head the jury at this year's Cannes film festival, its organisers said Tuesday, the first Australian ever to preside over the world's top film event.

The 70-year-old director of "The Witches of Eastwick", who launched the career of Hollywood star Mel Gibson and a whole genre of "outback gothic" films with the "Mad Max" series in 1979, reacted to the news in typically flamboyant fashion. 

"What an unmitigated delight!" he said. "Such an honour. I'll be there with bells on!"