Australian actor David Gulpilil has won a best actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for his performance in Rolf De Heer's Charlie's Country.

The prize is part of the Un Certain Regard section, which runs parallel to the main competition and promotes innovative filmmaking.

The film is about an older Indigenous man struggling to live life in a traditional way.

Gulpilil's first role was in British filmmaker Nicholas Roeg's iconic 1971 film Walkabout.

He went on to high-profile roles in films including Crocodile Dundee (1986), Ten Canoes (2006) and Australia (2008).

Gulpilil has been in trouble with the law in recent years and was sent to alcohol rehabilitation.

He had repeatedly said he wanted to get back into making movies.