Kirsten Dunst, 'Tree of Life' Win Top Prizes at Cannes Film Fest

Terrence Malick's'The Tree of Life'divided criticsat the Cannes Film Festival, but a jury led by Robert De Niro awarded it the Palme d'Or, the festival's highest honor, Sunday.

Another media storm surrounded 'Melancholia' afterLars von Trier's outlandish behavior got himbannedfrom the festival, but that didn't stop the film's star,Kirsten Dunst, from being honored for her role as a depressed bride. While the ban prevented von Trier from attending the ceremony, his film was still eligible for prizes.

"What a week it's been,"Dunst said as she accepted the prize. She thanked the fest for allowing the film to remain in competition and von Trier"for giving me the opportunity to be so brave in this film, and so free.'"

Charlotte Gainsbourg and Bjork have previously won the award at Cannes for their roles in von Trier's 'Antichrist' and 'Dancer in the Dark.'

See the complete list of winners after the jump

The Grand Prix was shared by two Cannes veterans: Nuri Bilge Ceylan's 'Once Upon a Time in Anatolia' and brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's 'The Kid With a Bike.'

The Dardennes have won the Palme d'Or twice, for 'Rosetta' in 1999 and 'The Child' in 2005. Ceylan received the Grand Prix for ''Distant' in 2002 and the director prize for ''Three Monkeys' in 2008.

Nicolas Winding Refn took the director laurels for his action-thriller, ''Drive,' starring Ryan Gosling. In his acceptance speech, he called Gosling ''my favorite alter ego.''

Cannes 64th Film Festival Awards

Palme d'Or:'The Tree of Life' (Terrence Malick, U.S.)

Grand Prix (tie):'Once Upon a Time in Anatolia' (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey) and 'The Kid With a Bike'' (Jean-Luc and Pierre Dardenne, France)

Director:Nicolas Winding Refn ('Drive,'U.S.)

Jury prize:'Polisse' (Maiwenn, France)

Actor:Jean Dujardin ('The Artist,' France)

Actress:Kirsten Dunst ('Melancholia,' Denmark-Sweden-France-Germany)

Screenplay:Joseph Cedar ('Footnote,' Israel)

Camera d'Or:'Las acacias' (Pablo Giorgelli, Argentina-Spain)

Palme d'Or, short films:'Cross' (Maryna Vroda)


{Variety1,2}

Source