CANNES - "Shoplifters", a heartwrenching family tale by Japanese veteran director Hirokazu Kore-eda, won the Palme d'Or top prize at the Cannes film festival Sunday, at a ceremony marked by an emotional speech from a Harvey Weinstein accuser.

Spike Lee accepted the runner-up Grand Prix for "BlacKkKlansman", a searing broadside against racism with the stranger-than-fiction true story of an African-American police officer who manages to infiltrate the highest levels of the Ku Klux Klan.

Jury president Cate Blanchett said the film, which explicitly links the 1970s tale and white nationalism in the Trump era, "blew us out of the cinema".

But the most stunning moment of the night came when Italian star Asia Argento, who has said she was raped by Weinstein at Cannes in 1997, took the microphone and vowed to fight for justice for other victims.

"This festival was his hunting ground," said Argento, who says she was 21 when Weinstein attacked her in his hotel room.

"Even tonight sitting among you there are those who still have to be held accountable for their conduct against women. We know who you are and we are not going to allow you to get away with it any longer," she said to cheers from the audience.

Minutes before the actress took the stage police in Paris said they had opened a criminal probe against one of France's best-known directors, "The Fifth Element" maker Luc Besson, for allegedly raping an actress.

'RARE GOOD NEWS'

Lebanese actress-director Nadine Labaki, one of three female filmmakers among the 21 contenders, earned the third-place Jury Prize for "Capernaum" set among the poorest of the poor in Beirut and featuring a devastating performance by a 13-year-old Syrian refugee boy.

Kazakhstan's Samal Yeslyamova nabbed best actress for "Ayka" by director Sergey Dvortsevoy for her moving portrayal of a young jobless immigrant from post-Soviet Central Asia who abandons her baby in Moscow.

Polish Oscar winner Pawel Pawlikowski took the prize for best director for "Cold War", a tragic love story set against the backdrop of the Iron Curtain.

Pawlikowski, who won the foreign-language movie Oscar for "Ida" in 2015, caused a scandal at home when he said at the festival that the film had been "blacklisted" by the nationalist government. Warsaw denied the claim.

He said his award was "a rare piece of good news" for his country.

Italy's Marcello Fonte - who was working as a caretaker when he was discovered - was the night's fairytale winner. He clinched best actor for his much-loved performance as a soft-spoken pet groomer who stands up to a heavy in Matteo Garrone's "Dogman".

"Three Faces" by Iran's Jafar Pahahi, who was barred by Tehran from attending the festival, shared the best screenplay prize with Italian director Alice Rohrwacher's "Happy as Lazzaro".

'VERY SCARY TIME'

"Shoplifters" was an early favorite at the 71st Cannes festival.

It depicts a couple who rescue two abused and neglected children, providing the first love the youngsters have experienced even as they groom the kids to steal.

US movie website IndieWire hailed it as "miraculous" while The Guardian called it "a rich, satisfying film".

Beyond the prize winners, this year's festival will linger for its off-screen moments.

Hollywood stars including Blanchett, Kristen Stewart, Helen Mirren and Salma Hayek and directors Ava DuVernay and Patty Jenkins joined a red-carpet protest to demand equal opportunities for women and a "safe workplace".

Two days later, festival organizers signed a pledge to encourage more diversity in its selection by 2020. - AFP