An emotional lesbian love story by French director Abdellatif Kechiche won the top prize at the 2013 Cannes festival. Critics had picked the film as a possible winner at the 66th Cannes festival but queried whether its no-holds-barred lesbian sex scenes would be a deterrent to the jury deciding the awards led by U.S. filmmaker Steven Spielberg.

"I think it will get a lot of play ... I think this film carries a very strong message, a very positive message," Spielberg told a news conference, adding that he was a firm supporter of same-sex marriage.

Kechiche, an actor who made his directorial debut in 2000, was virtually speechless as he went up on stage to receive his award from U.S. actress Uma Thurman before a star-studded audience.Kechiche was handed the Palme d'Or statuette, flanked by his two lead actresses, Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopoulos.

He dedicated the award to the youth of Tunisia, where he was born, praising their strength in the Arab Spring as those "who wanted only to live, speak and love freely".