Dhaka: The director of the Cannes Film Festival has apologised after a controversy blew up over women being denied access to the red carpet for not wearing high heels, reports abc.net.

‘We apologise,’ Thierry Fremaux said.

But he sought to downplay the controversy that blew up on social media after reports that security guards had turned away a group of women in their 50s for wearing flats to the gala screening of Todd Haynes' lesbian romance Carol starring Cate Blanchett.

In another case, film producer Valeria Richter was reprimanded by festival officials for wearing flat shoes, despite having a partially amputated left foot.

‘Obviously, I could wave my foot at them and that would make the situation a little less awkward for them, because I had a visible explanation,’ she told the BBC.

But she said a number of her colleagues who were wearing flats were turned away.

‘There was perhaps a small moment of over-zealousness,’ Fremaux said, apparently referring to the security guards.

The story, first reported by trade magazine Screen International, sparked hundreds of angry tweets and was described by actress Emily Blunt as ‘very disappointing’.

‘Everyone should wear flats to be honest. We shouldn't wear high heels anyway,’ Blunt said at a press conference for her new film Sicario.

‘That's very disappointing. Just when you kind of think there are these new waves of equality, waves of people realising we are as fascinating and interesting to watch and bankable.’

The Canadian director of Sicario, Denis Villeneuve, had joked that he and the film's co-stars, Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin, would ‘walk the stairs in high heels’ in solidarity at the red-carpet premiere, however the trio did not uphold the pledge.

The festival issued a statement Tuesday in which it denied there was any official diktat on female footwear.

‘Regarding the dress code for the red carpet screenings, rules have not changed throughout the years and there is no specific mention about the height of the women's heels as well as for men's,’ the statement said.

Tuxedo and formal dress are required for gala screenings, while other screenings require smart dress.

There was further confusion because Screen International said it was initially directed to a press spokesperson who told the magazine that high heels were ‘obligatory’.

Festival organisers later told the magazine that the spokesperson was misinformed.