Honour: Kirsten Dunst poses next to Venezuelian actor Edgard Ramirez after being awarded with the Prix de l'Interpretation Feminine (best actress) for Melancholia
Kirsten Dunst conquered the Cannes Film Festival by taking the best actress award from a jury led by Robert De Niro and for a movie made by banned film-maker Lars von Trier.
The 29-year-old star thought her chances of winning at Cannes were dimmed after Von Trier was made persona non grata by the festival's board after telling a press conference he understood Hitler and that he 'was a Nazi'.
The comments sent shock waves through the film world.
Kirsten told the Mail Online that she kept thinking, 'Lars, shut up'.
She added: 'He's a great film-maker who, sometimes I feel should let his films speak for themselves.'
In any event, the actress who has come a long way since starring in the Spiderman pictures.
Touched: She was awarded the coveted prize during the closing ceremony of the 64th Cannes Film FestivalShe gives a terrific, deeply felt performance in Von Trier's film Melancholia as a newly-wed bride who instantly regrets her marriage while at the same time the planet Earth is on collision course with another planet.
Her character Justine is an utterly depressed young woman .
'I understood a little of what Justine was going through', the actress told the Mail Online.
Dressed for the occasion: Kirsten looked stunning in a silver and white floor length dressIt is a huge triumph for Kirsten as there was formidable competition from the likes of Tilda Swinton who starred in the British entry We Need To Talk About Kevin.
The win also helps Kirtsen make a shift from main stream Hollywood films to more independent fare.
The big award of the night, the Palme d'Or went to Terrence Malick's epic visual poem
The Tree of Life which starred Brad Pitt and Sean Penn.
Best actor went to Jean Dujarin for the enchanting picture The Artists which took a touching glance back to the era of silent films.Best director went to Nicolas Winding Refn for his work on the brilliant but bloody-
thirsty thriller Drive which starred Ryan Gosling who is excellent as a movie stunt car driver by day and a getaway driver by night.
Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac, and Christina Hendricks also star in the film which opens in the UK in the Autumn.
Other prizes went to the superb French movie Polisse which looked at a Parisian child
protection unit.
Jury members included Uma Thurman and Jude Law.
Delighted: The 29-year-old lapped up the attention from her peers during tonight's Closing Ceremony in Cannes
Critical acclaim: Dunst stars in Melancholia as a newly-wed bride who instantly regrets her marriage while at the same time the planet Earth is on collision course with another planetsource: dailymail
