Natalie Portman brushes up French for new film

Oscar-winning US actress Natalie Portman has been working on her French language skills to star in her first Gallic film in over two decades, industry journal Variety reported Tuesday.

Portman, who moved to Paris last year with her French choreographer husband Benjamin Millepied, will star alongside Johnny Depp's daughter Lily Rose in "Planetarium," a 1930s-set drama by French director Rebecca Zlotowski.

It will be her first time working with a French director since "Leon" in 1994 with Luc Besson, Variety said, adding that the film follows two sisters believed to possess the supernatural ability to connect with ghosts.

Portman is due at the Cannes Film Festival opening on the French riviera Wednesday, with her directorial debut "A Tale of Love and Darkness."

The Israel-born actress won a best actress Golden Globe and her Academy Award for 2010's "Black Swan" -- on the set of which she met Millepied.

The couple wed in 2012 and moved to Paris last November, after Millepied got a job with the Paris Opera Ballet.