Cannes film festival's prestigious Palme d'Or (the Golden Palm) went Saturday to "The Child" by sibling directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, who dedicated the prize to the missing French female journalist Florence Aubenas and her Iraqi assistant Hussein Hanoun, held hostage in Iraq since January.

"The Child" is about a petty thief who sells his baby son. It is the Dardennes' second Golden Palm, after they got the triumph in 1999 for their controversial film "Rosetta".

Oscar winners Morgan Freeman and Hilary Swank lent Hollywood glamour to the Cannes awards ceremony, handing the Palme d'Or to the Dardenne brothers in front of an audience of VIPs and celebrities.

The runner-up prize, the Grand Prix, went to "Broken Flowers" a melancholic road movie starring Bill Murray .

"I would really like to accept this on behalf of all filmmakers who follow their heart," said its director Jim Jarmusch, praising all this year's entrants.

The best actress award went to Israeli entertainer Hanna Laslo, who dedicated the honor to her mother, an Auschwitz concentration camp survivor.

Chinese director Wang Xiaoshuai received the jury's prize for his film, "Shanghai Dreams".

Source: Xinhua