Movie centred on ex-LTTE cadre wins Cannes
French director Jacques Audiard's film "Dheepan" has won the top prize at Cannes, the Palme d'Or. The picture starred Anthonythasan Jesuthasan, a former child soldier of LTTE.
The gritty drama tells the story of refugees fleeing post-civil war Sri Lanka for a life in France.
The choice made by the jury led by American filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen was a surprise.
Holocaust drama "Son of Saul" took the Grand Prix. Vincent Lindon won Best Actor while Rooney Mara and Emmanuelle Bercot shared Best Actress.
"Dheepan" tells of a former Tamil Tiger fighter who links up with two strangers – a young woman and a nine-year-old girl - to pretend to be a family and find a life of asylum in a tough, drug-infested housing estate on the edge of Paris.
Audiard, who previously made "A Prophet" and "Rust and Bone", said: "To receive a prize from the Coen brothers is something pretty exceptional. I'm very touched. I'm thinking of my father."
Joel Coen said: "This isn't a jury of film critics. This is a jury of artists who are looking at the work."
The Grand Prix, essentially the runner-up prize, went to Hungarian newcomer Laszlo Nemes for "Son of Saul" and its depiction of the Auschwitz, gas chambers.
(BBC News)
