Cache and Funny Games director Michael Haneke has apparently created another great film, as his newest, The White Ribbon has won the highly prestigious Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival. The new work from Michael Haneke is described by Variety as "a stark, black-and-white drama set in a rural German village on the eve of World War I." Sony Pictures Classics secured the North American rights to the film before it was even premiered at the festival.

Jacques Audiard, who made 2005's The Beat That My Heart Skipped, was awarded the Grand Prix for his "tough prison drama," A Prophet. The Grand Prix can be considered a kind of "second place" prize.

Inglorious Basterds earned a bit of critical recognition when actor Christoph Waltz was awarded Best Actor. Charlotte Gainsbourg was awarded Best Actress for her performance in Lars Von Trier's Antichrist; (a film that Variety's Todd McCarthy has hilariously described as "a big fat art-film fart.")

Famous French director Alain Resnais, who is highly regarded for making such films as Last Year at Marienbad or Hiroshima Mon Amour, received a lifetime achievement award and also a standing ovation from the Grand Theatre Lumiere audience. His film, Wild Grass, also won the Special jury prize.

The jury prize was given to Oldboy director Chan Wook Park's Thirst, the screenplay award was given to Spring Fever, a film by Mei Feng, and the director prestige was handed to Brillante Mendoza for the film Kinatay. Interestingly enough, Variety reports that these three films "drew heavy booing from the assembled press corps."

With another year of Cannes past, we can now only sit back and wait - until these films hit stateside.

Source: Variety