Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives has beaten off British competition to be awarded the coverted top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, the Palme d'Or.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul's film is about a dying man's journey of discovery and beat entries from directors Mike Leigh and Ken Loach.

Alice in Wonderland director Tim Burton, head of the festival's jury, described Uncle Boonmee as "beautiful".

He added: "One of the things I love about the festival is seeing things you don't usually see."

French actress Juliette Binoche won the Best Actress award for her role in Certified Copy, while Spanish actor Javier Bardem shared the Best Actor prize with Elio Germano of Italy.