The Cannes Film Festival has given its top prize, the Palme d'Or, to the mystical Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.

It beat British director Mike Leigh's Another Year, which was seen as the favourite by many at the French event.

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.

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.

Elio Germano and Spain's Javier Bardem were joint winners of the best actor accolade for playing a corrupt policeman who is diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Source: Press Release