Cannes awards: Tommy Lee Jones is best actor

Hollywood star Tommy Lee Jones won the best actor prize at the Cannes film festival on Saturday.

Hollywood star Tommy Lee Jones won the best actor prize at the Cannes film festival on Saturday for his performance in a modern-day Western he directed, "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada".

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Spanish actress Penelope Cruz presented the prize to Jones at a gala ceremony. The picture, a tough-as-nails tale about death and redemption in the border area between Texas and Mexico, marked Jones's film directing debut.

The awards selected by a nine-member jury headed by Sarajevo-born filmmaker Emir Kusturica:

Palme d'Or (Golden Palm): "The Child," Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (Belgium).

Grand Prize: "Broken Flowers," Jim Jarmusch (United States).

Jury Prize: "Shanghai Dreams," Wang Xiaoshuai (China).

Best Director: "Hidden," Michael Haneke (Austria).

Best Actor: Tommy Lee Jones, "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" (United States).

Best Actress: Hanna Laslo, "Free Zone," Israel.

Best Screenplay: "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada," Guillermo Arriaga (Mexican screenwriter, US film).

Golden Camera (first-time director): "Me and You and Everyone We Know," Miranda July, (United States), and "The Forsaken Land," Vimukthi Jayasundara (Sri Lanka).