"The Class" by Laurent Cantet, a French film about students and teachers and their Parisian classroom life at a junior high school, won the Cannes festival’s top award, the Palme d’Or.

The announcement about the award has caused an even bigger media frenzy as it is France’s first in 21 years. Their previous win came way back in 1987 with the movie "Under Satan's Sun."

The movie was based on an autobiographical novel by Francois Begaudeau, who wrote about his experience as a young school teacher.

"It is an amazing, amazing film," said US actor-director Sean Penn, the head of the nine-member Cannes jury, as he announced the prize, according to Agence France-Presse.

MercuryNews qouted the movie’s director, Laurent Cantet, talking about his vision and presenting his drive for making the movie, as he wanted to capture the French society with all its multifaceted, teeming and complex features.

Other very appreciated stories in the film festival’s competition included "Linha de Passe," the story of four brothers in a Brazilian slum, directed by Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas; "Gomorrah," directed by Matteo Garrone; "Three Monkeys," directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan; "Il Divo," a presentation of the former Italian Premier Giulio Andreotti, directed by Paolo Sorrentino and "Waltz With Bashir," an animated documentary about life during Lebanon’s 1980s war, directed by Ari Folman.

Last year's top prize was handed out for the movie "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days," an Romanian abortion drama directed by Cristian Mungiu.