For the first time since its creation in 1951, the Jean Vigo prize has been awarded ex-aequo to two features - Patricia Mazuy's Saint-Cyr, and Orso Miret's first feature effort De L'Histoire Ancienne.

The two titles will premiere in two Cannes sidebars next month - Saint-Cyr in Un Certain Regard and De L'Histoire Ancienne in the Critics' Week.

Created by friends of Jean Vigo, the director of cult French classics L'Atalante and Zero De Conduite, the prize rewards a feature characterised by its independence of spirit and is traditionally given to a film-maker whose work has not yet been given festival exposure.