Gay Filmmaker Wins Top Prize at Cannes

Gay filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul from Thailand won the Palme d'Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, on Sunday for his film, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.

The Los Angeles Times reports on the unexpected achievement for the film and its director.

"A supernatural-laden drama about a dying man who takes a mystical journey, the film had won the hearts of many critics and festival-goers when it screened last week, but most experts believed the prize would go to one of a group of Cannes veterans, including Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu, Abbas Kiarostami and Mike Leigh, all of whom had well-received films. Weerasethakul, known colloquially as 'Joe,' becomes a Palme d'Or winner at the relatively young age of 39, with 'Boonmee,' his sixth film. The movie does not yet have U.S. distribution."

The Daily Kos has more on Weerasethakul, who won the 2004 Cannes Jury Prize for his film Tropical Malady.