Michael Haneke has been awarded the Palme d'Or at Cannes for The White Ribbon.
The Austrian director's film beat off competition from directors including Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), Ken Loach (Looking For Eric) and Pedro Almodovar (Broken Embraces).
The White Ribbon's star Christoph Waltz was also named best actor for his portrayal of an SS officer in the black and white film which charts terrible events in a protestant village on the eve of the first World War.
Accepting the award, Haneke said: "Thank you very much. Sometimes my wife asks me a very feminine question: that is, 'am I happy'. Well, let me say that at this moment in time, I am very happy.
"Much thanks also to Thierry Fremaux for including me in this prestigious competition; to my producers, for letting me do what I wanted; to the funding sources which financed the film, and to the children, who were an enormous gift to me. A thousand thanks."
The Grand Prix - which, essentially, marks 'second place' at the French Fest - went to French director Jacques Audiard for A Prophet (Un Prophete), which charts the progress of an illiterate 19-year-old in prison, who despite initially being in thrall to the top dog, is seretly developing his own plans.
The best actress honours went to Charlotte Gainsbourg for her role in Lars von Trier's controversial film Antichrist. She described shooting the film as "the most intense, the most painful, and most exciting experience of my life".
The prize for best director went to Brilliante Mendoza for Kinatay, a dark drama that sees a criminology student embroiled in a protection racket.
British director Andrea Arnold was also honoured for the second time by Cannes - who gave her the Jury Prize for Red Road in 2006. This time her latest film Fish Tank (screening at Edinburgh International Festival next month) shared the Jury Prize with Park Chan-Wook's Thirs (Bak-Jwi) - a story of a priest-turned-vampire.
Best screenplay went to Lou Ye for Spring Fever (Chung Fen Cheng Zui De Ye Wan), which tells the story of a man sent to spy on his employer's wife, but who finds himself losing control.
The Vulcain prize for an artist technician was awarded to Map Of The Sounds Of Tokyo, while Alan Resnais received a lifetime achievement award for Wild Grass (Les Herbes Folles).
The short film Palm d'Or was won by Joao Salaviza's Arena - about a man under house arrest - with a shoart film special distinction being awarded to Louis Sutherland's story of an eight-year-old would be super-hero, The Six Dollar Fifty Man.
