Sony to unfurl 'Ribbon' at Christmas

Michael Haneke directed Cannes winner

By PAMELA MCCLINTOCK

Michael Haneke's stark black-and-white drama 'The White Ribbon' was the winner of the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Sony Pictures Classics will release Michael Haneke's "The White Ribbon" on Christmas Day.

German film was the winner of the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

The stark, black-and-white drama is set in a German village on the eve of World War I, and follows a winding trail of malicious deeds.

Sony Classics acquired domestic distribution rights to the pic on the eve of Cannes.

"White Ribbon" is the first specialty film to stake out the Dec. 25 date. As of now, film is set to open first in Los Angeles and New York.

Christmas day wide releases include 20th Century Fox's "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel," Warner Bros.' "Sherlock Holmes" and Sony's untitled comedy from Nancy Meyers.