An unusual film from Thailand with an unusual name has won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival in France.
The jury awarded the Golden Palm to the film "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives." It is a surreal story of a dying man who sees ghosts, monkeys, bugs and catfish.
Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul thanked those he called the "spirits and ghosts" in Thailand who he says made it possible for him to be in France.
The Grand Prix for runner-up went to "Of Gods and Men" from director Xavier Beauvois of France. That film is based on the true story of seven French monks beheaded during Algeria's civil war in 1996.
The Jury Prize for the third best film in the competition went to "A Screaming Man," directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun of Chad. South Korea's Lee Chang-Dong won the Best Screenplay award for his film "Poetry."
Other winners include France's Mathieu Amalric for best director, and Javier Bardem and Elio Germano, who shared the Best Actor prize.
Juliette Binoche won the Best Actress award for her role in "Certified Copy," by Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
