“Parasite” wins the top Palme d’Or prize

“Parasite,” a suspenseful dark comedy about class struggles directed by South Korea’s Bong Joon-Ho, won the top Palme d’Or prize.

The award adds to a successful run at the French cinema showcase for Asian films after Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda clinched the prestigious gong last year.

This year’s Cannes film festival also shone a light on newcomers, in an unusually crowded field. “Atlantics,” a ghost story about migrants directed by Franco-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop, won the runner-up Grand Prix award.

Spain’s Antonio Banderas won the male acting prize for his role as a tortured filmmaker in Pedro Almodovar’s loosely biographical “Pain And Glory” – one of the films that had been tipped for the top honor.

Britain’s Emily Beecham was crowned best actress after starring in Jessica Hausner’s “Little Joe” as a botanist who starts having doubts about her latest genetically-modified creation when it begins to affect her loved ones. The Jury Prize was shared by Ladj Ly’s “Les Miserables” and Juliano Dornelles’ “Bacurau”.

Palestinian director Elia Suleiman’s “It Must Be Heaven” got the Special Mention By the Jury, while Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s “The Young Ahmed” bagged the Best Director prize, and Celine Sciamma’s “Portrait of A Lady On Fire” the Best Screenplay.