A Romanian film about illegal abortion has won the 60th Cannes Film Festival's best-film award, the Palme d'Or, Golden Palm.
Cristian Mungiu directed the film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, judged the best of 22 films in the awards competition at the annual French Riviera cinema event. The film tells the story of a young student in a small town who undergoes a risky illegal abortion.
The Grand Prix, the runner-up prize, went to The Mourning Forest, a lyrical Japanese movie about mourning and grief.
Two films shared the Jury Prize, the third highest award - Persepolis, an animated film from Iran about life under the ayatollahs, co-directed by Marjane Satrapi; and Silent Light, a story of love and faith set in a Mexican farming community, directed by Carlos Reygadas.
Julian Schnabel was named best director for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
Best screenplay was awarded to German-Turkish director Fatih Akin for The Edge of Heaven, a cross-border story of love and reconciliation.
South Korean actress Jeon Do-yeon the won best actress award for her role in Secret Sunshine. Best actor went to Russian actor Konstantin Lavronenko, for his role in the film The Banishment.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
