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Cannes to climax with Palme d'Or Thai film pulls off Cannes shock
(about 3 hours later)
The prestigious Palme d'Or is to be awarded to the best film at the Cannes Film Festival as the 12-day event comes to a climax later. The Cannes Film Festival has given its top prize, the Palme d'Or, to Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.
Movies by British directors Mike Leigh and Ken Loach are among the favourites for honours on the French Riviera. It beat British director Mike Leigh's Another Year, which was seen as the favourite by many at the French event.
Other contenders include Biutiful, starring Javier Bardem and directed by Mexico's Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. Directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, the winning film is about a dying man who is visited by his late wife and his missing son, who has become an ape.
Edward Scissorhands director Tim Burton leads the jury that will pick a winning film from the 19 in competition. US director Tim Burton led the jury that picked the victor from 19 entries.
French actress Juliette Binoche won best actress for her role as a gallery owner in Tuscany in the romantic drama Copie Conforme (Certified Copy), directed by Iran's Abbas Kiarostami.
Another Year by Mike Leigh (second right) did not receive any prizes
Kiarostami earned the Palme d'Or in 1997 with Taste of Cherry.
Spain's Javier Bardem was joint winner of the best actor accolade for playing a corrupt policeman who is diagnosed with terminal cancer.
He appears in Biutiful by Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, best known for Babel and 21 Grams.
Bardem shared the prize with Italian actor Elio Germano for La Nostra Vita.
The prize for best director went to actor-turned-filmmaker Mathieu Amalric for his story of the struggling manager of a burlesque dance troupe, Tournee (On Tour).
Juliette Binoche won best actress for her role in Copie Conforme (Certified Copy)
South Korean director Lee Chang-Dong's Poetry took the best screenplay prize.
This year's line-up has left many critics underwhelmed, but Mike Leigh's Another Year, starring Jim Broadbent and Lesley Manville, stood out for many.This year's line-up has left many critics underwhelmed, but Mike Leigh's Another Year, starring Jim Broadbent and Lesley Manville, stood out for many.
The portrait of a happily married couple nearing retirement was described as "beautiful, mordant and curiously riveting" by The Guardian, while The Times said it was "a treasure" that showed "Leigh at his confident best".The portrait of a happily married couple nearing retirement was described as "beautiful, mordant and curiously riveting" by The Guardian, while The Times said it was "a treasure" that showed "Leigh at his confident best".
The 19 competing films, including Biutiful, have had red carpet premieres
Leigh won the Palme d'Or for Secrets and Lies in 1996, and has become one of the UK's most cherished film-makers with works including Vera Drake, Happy-Go-Lucky and Career Girls.
Ken Loach, another British arthouse heavyweight, is back in competition four years after winning the festival's top accolade for The Wind that Shakes the Barley.
His new movie, Route Irish, is a revenge drama based around the deployment of private security contractors in Iraq.
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, best known for Babel and 21 Grams, is in contention with his story of a corrupt policeman who is diagnosed with terminal cancer and attempts to tie up his troubled life.
Bardem has been heavily tipped for the best actor prize for the lead role.
PALME D'OR - RECENT WINNERS 2009 - The White Ribbon by Michael Haneke2008 - The Class by Laurent Cantet2007 - 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days by Cristian Mungiu2006 - The Wind That Shakes The Barley by Ken Loach2005 - L'Enfant by Jean-Pierre Dardenne2004 - Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael MoorePALME D'OR - RECENT WINNERS 2009 - The White Ribbon by Michael Haneke2008 - The Class by Laurent Cantet2007 - 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days by Cristian Mungiu2006 - The Wind That Shakes The Barley by Ken Loach2005 - L'Enfant by Jean-Pierre Dardenne2004 - Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore
Another festival favourite has been Of Gods and Men by French director Xavier Beauvois, telling the true story of seven French monks who were mysteriously murdered in Algeria in 1996. But Leigh, who also made Vera Drake, Happy-Go-Lucky and won the Palme d'Or for Secrets and Lies in 1996, went home empty-handed this time.
A potential dark horse for the Palme d'Or is the Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Ken Loach, another British arthouse heavyweight, was also back in competition four years after winning the festival's top accolade for The Wind that Shakes the Barley.
It centres around a dying man who is visited by the spirit of his late wife and his missing son, who has mutated into an ape. His new movie, Route Irish, is a revenge drama based around the deployment of private security contractors in Iraq.
Another former winner in competition is Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, who earned the Palme d'Or in 1997 with Taste of Cherry. Joining Tim Burton on the nine-member jury were actors Kate Beckinsale and Benicio Del Toro and director Shekhar Kapur.
He has entered this year with his cryptic love story Certified Copy, starring Juliette Binoche.
Joining Tim Burton on the nine-member jury are actors Kate Beckinsale and Benicio Del Toro and director Shekhar Kapur.