I, Daniel Blake by British director Ken Loach won the Palme d'Or for Best Picture at the 69th Cannes Film Festival on Sunday.

Loach, known for his social realism, had already won the highest distinction in 2006 for The Wind That Shakes the Barley.

I, Daniel Blake tells the story of a 59-year-old joiner played by Dave Johns who is battling to keep his state benefits after an injury. His journey through bureaucratic red tape has him cross paths with single mother Kaite (Hayley Squires) and her children.

Quebec director Xavier Dolan won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, considered the second-place prize after the Palme d'Or.

Dolan won the prize for Juste la fin du monde (It's Only the End of the World). The film, which features Vincent Cassel, Marion Cotillard and Léa Seydoux, is based on a play by Jean-Luc Lagarce about a man who returns home after a long absence, only to tell his family that he is about to die.

The Iranian film Forushande (The Salesman) by Asghar Farhadi received two awards, for Best Screenplay and for Best Actor, won by Shahab Hosseini.

Farhadi is best known as director of Golden Globe winner A Separation.