Cannes, May 27 (IANS): South Korean film "Parasite", a dark comedy by Bong Joon-ho, won the coveted Palme d'Or at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival, where Quentin Tarantinos "Once Upon A Time" was praised highly but returned empty handed.

At the Cannes closing ceremony, on Saturday night, Joon-ho got a standing ovation and a loud cheer from the audience when his film was named the Palme d'Or winner, reported hollywoodreporter.com.

Jury president Alejandro González Iñárritu said the Palme d'Or decision was "unanimous".

Antonio Banderas won the best actor award for his role as a past-his-prime director in Pedro Almodóvar's "Pain & Glory", and Mati Diop's "Atlantics" landed the runner-up Grand Prix award.

Banderas, who teamed up with Almodóvar for the eighth time, said, "I met Pedro 40 years ago, 8 movies together. I respect him, admire him, love him. He's given me so much in my life that this award obviously is dedicated to him. People think we live on a red carpet. But we suffer a lot, sacrifice a lot and there is a lot of pain. Also there are nights of glory. And this is my night of glory."

The Camera d'Or went to César Diaz for "Our Mothers", which screened in the Critics' Weel sidebar. The award honours the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes' selections. A special mention was handed over to Elia Suleiman for "It Must Be Heaven", which played in the competition segment, the hollywoodreporter.com reported.

Brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne took best director honours for "Young Ahmed", a film about a Belgian teenager embracing Islamic extremism.

British actress Emily Beecham won the best actress award for "Little Joe" for her role as Alice, a scientist who creates a genetically modified plant that seemingly causes uncanny changes in other living creatures.

The awards ceremony drew a who's who of celebrities from the film industry, including Viggo Mortensen, Sylvester Stallone and Vincent Cassel, adding to the glamour quotient.