A film with the intriguing title of Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall Hi Past Lives has scooped the top prize at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival. Thailand’s Apichatpong Weerasethakul was the recipient of the coveted Palme d’Or. The film was co-produced by the UK, France, Germany and Spain.
Weerasethakul is no stranger to success at Cannes, having won the Jury Prize in 2004 for Tropical Malady. In 2002 another of his films, Blissfully Yours, won the Un Certain Regard Prize.
The runner-up prize, the Grand Prize, went to French director Xavier Neauvois’ Of Gods and Men.
Africa scored a triumph with Chadian filmmaker Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s French/Belgian co-production, A Screaming Man, winning the Jury Prize.
In the acting awards Juliette Binoche scooped Best Actress for Abbas Kiarostami’s Certified Copy. Best Actor was shared by Spain’s Javier Bardem for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Biutiful and Italy’s Elio Germano for Daniele Luchetti’s Our Life.
French filmmaker Mathieu Amalric won Best Director for On Tour.
The Camera d’Or for Best Debut Feature was awarded to Mexican director Michael Rowe’s Leap Year.
The Palme d’Or for Best Short went to France’s Serge Avedikian for Barking Island and a Jury Prize was awarded to Frida Kempf’s Swedish short Micky Bader.
