The 63rd Cannes Film Festival was held from 12 to 23 May 2010, in Cannes, France. The Cannes Film Festival, hailed as being one of the most recognized and prestigious film festivals worldwide, was founded in 1946. It consists of having films screened in and out of competition during the festival; films screened in competition compete for the Palme d'Or award. The award in 2010 was won by Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, a Thai film directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. This was determined by the festival's jury members who reviewed films screened in competition. American film director Tim Burton was the president of the jury for the international competition, and other members of the jury for that competition included actors, screenwriters and composers, such as Kate Beckinsale, Emmanuel Carrère, Benicio del Toro, and Alexandre Desplat. Other categories for films screened in competition that have their own separate juries for other awards are for Short Films and the Un Certain Regard category.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is a 2010 Thai drama film written, produced, and directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The film, which explores themes of reincarnation, centers on the last days in the life of its title character, played by Thanapat Saisaymar. Together with his loved ones—including the spirit of his dead wife, Huay, and his lost son, Boonsong, who has returned in a non-human form—Boonmee explores his past lives as he contemplates the reasons for his illness.