Nazi film wins top Cannes prize

A film portraying the roots of Nazi violence in Germany has won the top prize at the world's biggest film festival. 

• The Palme d’Or was awarded to Austrian director Michael Haneke for The White Ribbon at the Cannes film festival in France on Sunday.
• The White Ribbon is set in a small village in northern Germany just before World War I.
• In the black-and-white film, a sinister series of crimes rocks the village and appears linked to a group of children abused by their parents.
• Haneke said the film should not be interpreted as just being about Nazi ideology, but about any form of fanaticism.
• “If you are making a German film then this age is an interesting one,” he said.
• “If the children are 10-15 years old in 1913-1914, then they are just the right age during the Nazi regime, and that was obviously the reason to do it in this time.
• “But … you can apply it to any form of fanaticism, whether Islamic or left-wing fascism. It comes in all forms.”
• He also said the film had a place in modern society where television tended to provide instant answers.
• “If film wants to be an art form then its duty is to treat the viewers more seriously.”
• Prison drama A Prophet, by French director Jacques Audiard, received the runner-up prize at the 12-day film festival.