European Union co-funded Cannes winner “I, Daniel Blake”

PARIS – The European Union has congratulated director Ken Loach, who took the Palme d’Or in Cannes for “I, Daniel Blake,” a film partly funded by the European Commission.

Loach received the French Riviera festival’s top prize Sunday night for the film about a disabled carpenter in northern England fighting for social assistance. The production received almost 100,000 euros ($112,000) from the Creative Europe program.

Romanian Cristian Mungiu’s film “Graduation,” which won Sunday’s Best Director award, also received support.

The program, which has supported 14 other Palme d’Or winners, co-funds the development and distribution to several EU countries of films that contribute to “cultural diversity.”

Commissioner Gunther H. Oettinger, responsible for digital economy and society, congratulated both the teams “for this extraordinary success.”