By Ian Youngs BBC News Online correspondent in Cannes

Quentin Tarantino heads a festival jury that includes Tilda Swinton and Emmanuelle Beart

Tarantino, who is heading this year's jury at Cannes film festival in France, said only the US, India and Hong Kong had sustainable film industries.

"As soon as people become stars in Britain they get out of there and go to Hollywood," he said.

The Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction director added being at Cannes was "heaven".

The prestigious festival, which opened on Wednesday, has seen members of the world's film industry elite fly into the French Riviera.

I think we've all dreamed of heaven - for me, [Cannes] is where dreams come true Quentin Tarantino

Tarantino, who won the Palme d'Or in 1994 with Pulp Fiction, was addressing the opening of the festival with fellow jurors including actresses Kathleen Turner, Emmanuelle Beart and Tilda Swinton.

Citing the success of the US, India and Hong Kong, he said: "What do these countries have in common? They each have a star system, actors that citizens of that country want to pay and see. At the end of the day people go to see films to see stars."

But his comments about the UK did not go down well with Swinton, who starred with Ewan McGregor in Young Adam, which screened at Cannes last year.

She defended the British film industry, saying audiences wanted to see a mix of Hollywood blockbusters and quality home-produced films.

Politics be damned, if that's possible Quentin Tarantino

She added that in the UK, multiplexes outnumbered art house cinemas by 10 to one.

But Tarantino continued with his theme, and said the last time Britain produced popular films was the Carry On slapstick movies of the 60s and 70s.

"No-one ever said the Carry On movies were art but they were very funny," he said.

A UK Film Council spokesman broadly agreed with Tarantino's comments, saying: "He said something which was absolutely true. Anyone in their right mind is going to go to Hollywood, because that's where the money is."

However the spokesman told BBC News Online: "But that doesn't mean there is some kind of brain drain from Britain. When you look at the amount of talent the UK has produced, it's extraordinary."

The French resort has seen rain on the festival's opening day

The festival is opening with Pedro Almodovar's La Mala Educacion on Wednesday, when the nine-strong jury will judge 18 contenders for the Palme d'Or award.

They include Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911, Shrek 2 and Tom Hanks' The Ladykillers, as well as offerings from France, Japan and Argentina.

Among the stars due to attend are Charlize Theron, Cameron Diaz and Brad Pitt, who will be promoting his Greek epic Troy on Thursday.

Tarantino added: "As great as it is to go [to Cannes] with a movie, it's better to be president of the jury."

He would judge the competing films purely on merit, he said, adding he would not let the political storm around Fahrenheit 911, which has a strong anti-President Bush stance, colour the jury's judgement.

Pedro Almodovar's latest film opens the festival

"I think it's just going to fall down on whether or not we like the movie. Politics be damned, if that's possible."

And he added: "It's very well-known how much I like Asian cinema - but that doesn't give one film an edge over another."

Last year's award was won by Gus Van Sant's Elephant, in a year when the festival came in for criticism for its poor choice of films.