Jean-Pierre Leaud, left, react with jury member Laszlo Nemes after being awarded the honorary Palme d'or, during the awards ceremony at the 69th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
May 22, 2016 - 12:17 PM
PARIS - Veteran British director Ken Loach has won his second Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for "I, Daniel Blake" while Canadian Xavier Dolan won the second highest honour.
The award for the 79-year-old, the festival's top prize, was announced by actor Mel Gibson at the Sunday ceremony at the Palais des Festivals on the French Riviera.
Jury president George Miller described the jury's selection as "rigorous and happy."
"I, Daniel Blake" is a warmly realistic drama about a middle-aged widower in northern England who can neither work nor get government benefits after a heart attack. Loach previously also won the top award for "The Wind That Shakes The Barley."
Dolan won the Grand Prix. The Quebec director was honoured for "Juste la fin du monde.''
News from © The Associated Press, 2016