The Austrian director Michael Haneke, known for his tales of urban crisis and banal horror has won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival for his latest drama, ‘The White Ribbon.’

On collecting the award, Haneke made a special address to his wife, telling her that ‘this is one moment in my life in which I’m very happy and so are you…happiness is very rare.’

‘The White Ribbon’ is a sombre fable, shot in black and white, set on the eve of World War I in a small German village, where a series of crimes lead the inhabitants into a morally complex sequence of guilt and retribution.

Austria was also represented in the best actor stakes, thanks to Christoph Waltz, who bagged an award for his monstrous Nazi in Tarantino’s WW2 rewrite ‘Inglourious Basterds.’

Charlotte Gainsbourg picked up the best actress prize for her role in Lars Von Trier’s highly controversial psychological drama, ‘Antichrist,’ which has polarized Cannes due to its horrific scenes of physical abuse.

The full list of winners:

Palme D’Or

‘The White Ribbon’ by Michael Haneke. When a small village is rocked by a series of mysterious and cruel crimes, a group of young children are the prime suspects.
 
Grand Prix (runner up)

‘A Prophet’ directed by France’s Jacques Audiard. A man is sentenced to six years in prison and must survive the dangerous rivalry between gangs.

Special career prize

Veteran French director Alain Resnais. His latest film, ‘Wild Grass,’ tells the story of Georges, who finds a wallet by his car which leads him to a mysterious and alluring woman.

Best actor

Austrian Christoph Waltz for his role as a Nazi officer in Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Inglourious Basterds’ in which a group of American-Jewish soldiers try to kill the leaders of the Third Reich.

Best actress

Charlotte Gainsbourg for ‘Antichrist’ directed by Lars Von Trier. Gainsbourg and Willem Dafoe play a couple whose son dies, leading them into torture and mutilation in an isolated cabin.

Best director

Filipino Brillante Mendoza for 'Kinatay'. A young man tries to make some money so he can marry his girlfriend. He takes a job for $2,000 but soon realizes that the job involves killing a woman.

Best screenplay

Mei Feng for, ‘Spring Fever,’ directed by China’s Ye Lou. A woman hires a man to spy on her husband’s homosexual relationship.

Jury prize (shared)

‘Fish Tank’ directed by Britain’s Andrea Arnold. A fifteen year old girl’s world is turned upside down when her mother brings home a new boyfriend.

‘Thirst’ directed by South Korean Park Chan-Wook. A priest becomes a vampire during a medical experiment and is seduced by a bored housewife bent on murder.

Camera D’Or (for debut film)

‘Samson and Delilah’ directed by Australia’s Warwick Thornton. A romance between two teenagers that looks at the often desperate conditions faced by Australia’s Aboriginal communities.

Best short film

‘Arena’ directed by Portuguese director Joao Salaviza.

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