French film Entre les Murs (The Class) won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, according to The New York Times. Directed by Laurent Cantet, this documentary-like drama follows a year in the life of a French schoolteacher working in a tough multicultural section of Paris. (Cue "Gangsta's Paradise"?) Benicio Del Toro also won the top prize for acting in Steven Soderbergh's Che. Viva la Benicio! More from The Times after the jump.  read more »

While we're frolicking with Baby Mammas here in New York at the Tribeca Film Festival, Cannes announced its contenders for the Palme d'Or award this year. Three American directors, including Clint Eastwood, Steven Soderbergh, and Charlie Kaufman will be among the big 19, according to Bloomberg. A 20th film from France will be chosen in the next few days. Mr. Eastwood will show Changeling, while Mr. Soderbergh will unveil the four-hour-long, two-part Che, about the Argentine-born revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Mr. Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) will present Synecdoche, New York. Last year, there were five US films in competition. The contenders for this year's Palme d'Or include films by Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Canada's Atom Egoyan, and German-born Wim Wenders. A seven-member jury, which includes Sean Penn and Natalie Portman, will award the prize.

Sean Penn has been named the jury president for this year's Cannes fest, being held from May 14-25. He directed critically acclaimed drama Into the Wild this year and won an Oscar for his role as a revenge-seeking father in Mystic River. Mr. Penn also won the best male performance prize at Cannes in 1997 for She's So Lovely by Nick Cassavetes.

According to the Associates Press:  read more »