French lesbian drama wins Cannes Palme d’Or prize
French-Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche (C) speaks on stage on May 26, 2013 flanked by French actresses Lea Seydoux (L) and Adele Exarchopoulos after he was awarded with the Palme d’Or for the film “Blue is the Warmest Colour” during the closing ceremony of the 66th Cannes film festival in Cannes.
'Blue is the Warmest Color,' a French love story about two young women, has won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
Tunisian-born director Abdellatif Kechiche's romantic film won rave review in Cannes but shocked some critics with its graphic and non-simulated sex scenes.
Variety magazine said it contained "the most explosively graphic lesbian sex scenes in recent memory".
Adele Exarchopoulos stars in the film as a 15-year-old girl whose life is changed when she falls in love with an older woman, played by Lea Seydoux.
In a surprise move, the jury awarded the prize to three people, the director and his two actresses.
Kechiche, Exarchopoulos and Seydoux clutched each other as they accepted the award, which is considered one of cinema's highest honors.
"You made a lot of people happy," Kechiche said as he turned to the nine-member jury, which was headed by Steven Speilberg and included Nicole Kidman, director Ang Lee and Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz.
An American film directed by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen won the festival's second-highest honor, the Grand Prix.
The film, 'Inside Llewyn Davis' stars Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan in the story of New York's 1960s folk scene.
Top prizes at the Cannes Film Festival:
Palme d’Or: Abdellatif Kechiche, Blue Is The Warmest Color
Grand Prix: Coen Brothers, Inside Llewyn Davis
Best Director: Amat Escalante, Heli
Best Screenplay: Jia Zhangke, A Touch of Sin
Best Actress: Berenice Bejo, The Past
Best Actor: Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Jury Prize: Hirokazu Kore-eda, Like Father, Like Son
Camera d'Or: Anthony Chen, Ilo Ilo