South Korean social satire ‘Parasite’ wins Palme d'Or at Cannes

"Parasite", a suspenseful dark comedy about class struggles directed by South Korea's Bong Joon-Ho, won the top Palme d'Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

The award adds to a successful run at the French cinema showcase for Asian films after Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda clinched the prestigious gong last year.

Bong, who made his mark at Cannes in 2017 with Netflix-produced "Okja", set his latest movie in modern South Korea.

It follows a down-on-their-luck family of four who spot an opportunity to con a wealthy household into giving them jobs.

Director Bong Joon-ho poses with cast members Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-Shik, Park So-Dam, Chang Hyae-Jin, and Lee Jung-Eun. 72nd Cannes Film Festival - Photocall for the film "Parasite" (Gisaengchung) in competition - Cannes, France, May 22, 2019. Reuters

They worm their way into the other family's lives - before things start going south.

This year's Cannes film festival also shone a light on newcomers, in an unusually crowded field.

"Atlantics", a ghost story about migrants directed by Franco-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop, won the runner-up Grand Prix award.

The movie, based on her 2009 short documentary, was Diop's first feature-length film.

Spain's Antonio Banderas won the male acting prize for his role as a tortured filmmaker in Pedro Almodovar's loosely biographical "Pain And Glory" - one of the films that had been tipped for the top honour.

Britain's Emily Beecham was crowned best actress after starring in Jessica Hausner's "Little Joe" as a botanist who starts having doubts about her latest genetically-modified creation when it begins to affect her loved ones.