French film The Class, about life in a Paris school, has won the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
Using real students and teachers the film follows the lives of the school's inhabitants for a year in the French capital.
During his acceptance speech, the film's director Laurent Cantet claimed he had aimed to make a movie that was "a reflection of French society – multiple, many-faceted, complex".
Other awards presented by the panel of judges, led to Sean Penn, included best first feature film for Hunger, a movie about IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands.
Benicio Del Toro was declared best actor for his portrayal of Che Guevara in Steven Soderbergh's Che.
"I'd like to dedicate this to the man himself, Che Guevara," De Toro said during his acceptance speech.
The best actress award went to Brazilian actress Sandra Corveloni for her performance in Line of Passage.
Clint Eastwood and Catherine Deneuve were also both presented with lifetime achievement awards at the prestigious French film festival.
26/05/2008 09:10:01
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