Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives took the Palme d’Or at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival. It was only the sixth Asian film to win the top prize at Cannes, and the first for more than a decade.
Directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, the movie tells the story of a dying man who meets spirits of the dead. Among the surprises, his son appears as a monkey and an ancient princess has sex with a talking catfish. [via Bangkokpost]
Feature films
Palme d’Or: “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives”
Grand Prix: “Of Gods and Men”, directed by Xavier Beauvois
Best Director: Mathieu Amalric, “On Tour”
Best Screenplay: Lee Chang-dong, “Poetry”
Best Actress: Juliette Binoche, “Certified Copy”
Best Actor (double winner): Javier Bardem, “Beautiful” & Elio Germano, “Our Life”
Jury Prize: “A Screaming Man”, directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Short Films
Palme d’Or: “Barking Island”, directed by Serge Avedikian
Jury Prize: “Bathing Micky”, directed by Frida Kempff
Cannes Film Festival – Previous: Cannes Film Festival 2009 winners