Precious gets standing-O at Cannes

Thanks to Pete for delivering this link to breaking news from Cannes.

Coming-of-age ghetto tale ‘Precious’ triumphs at Cannes

(1 hour ago) CANNES, France (AFP) ‚Äî Hard-hitting US indie movie “Precious”, the tale of an obese teenager trying to escape a lifetime of abuse, won a standing ovation for its director Lee Daniels at the Cannes festival Friday.

Daniels was moved to tears by the enthusiastic welcome for his film, which picked up the Grand Jury prize at Sundance and is running on the Riviera for the Un Certain Regard prize for new film talent.

The director was flanked by his mother, and by US singers Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz, who both hold supporting roles in the film — she as a dowdy social worker and he as a male nurse — and who brought a splash of glamour to the red-carpet screening.