Off the radar actress Kirsten Dunst who at the age of 12, gained widespread recognition playing the role of vampire opposite Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise and got nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress, received the actress prize at Cannes Film Festival for her performance in Lars von Trier’s ‘Melancholia.’ The 29 year old actress who famously dated Jake Gyllenhaal said upon accepting the prize, “Thank you to the Cannes Film Festival for still allowing our film to be in competition.” She thanked von Trier “for giving me the opportunity to be so brave in this film, and so free. Even though the director Lars von Trier was ‘persona non grata at the festival after his ‘ill-judged jokes,’ the jury headed by Robert DeNiro didn’t deny Dunst the prize. ” In “Melancholia,” Dunst plays a depressed bride whose wedding occurs a few weeks before a planet finds itself on a collision course with the Earth. The Golden Palm Award went to Brad Pitt’s ‘The Tree of Life’ movie with Sean Penn where he plays a tough-love type of dad.