Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord Wins Palme d’Or at the 79th Cannes Film Festival

Cristian Mungiu’s English-language debut “Fjord,” starring Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan as Romanian religious parents who relocate to a small Norwegian village, won the Palme d’Or at the 79th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

“Fjord, a thought-provoking drama about a Christian family in Norway from Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, has won the best film prize at the Cannes Film Festival”

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Mungiu’s win made him the 10th filmmaker to receive two Palmes, following his 2007 victory for “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” and it extended Neon’s streak to seven consecutive Palme d’Or wins.

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At the awards ceremony, the best director prize was shared between Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi for “The Black Ball” and Paweł Pawlikowski for “Fatherland,” while the best actress prize was shared by Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto.

The runner-up prize, the Grand Prix, went to Andrey Zvyagintsev’s “Minotaur,” and the film’s acceptance speech became a focal point when Zvyagintsev used it to address Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In his remarks, Park Chan-wook, head of the 2026 competition jury, joked he didn’t want to give the Palme d’Or to anyone, “because it’s an award that I myself have never gotten.”

At the press conference right after the ceremony, Park Chan-wook joked he didn’t want to give the Palme d’Or to anyone, “because it’s an award that I myself have never gotten,” before adding, “But I had No Other Choice.”

Andrey Zvyagintsev’s “Minotaur” took the Grand Prix, and The Hollywood Reporter described the film’s plot as requiring an executive to sign over employees to be cannon fodder for the Russian war effort in Ukraine.

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Zvyagintsev used his acceptance speech to call out Russian President Vladimir Putin and his war, saying, “And the only person who can stop this meat grinder is you, Mr. President of the Russian Federation.”

The Guardian reported that the director award was tied between Pawel Pawlikowski for “Fatherland” and Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi for “The Black Ball,” while both the actor and actress awards were shared between pairs of performers.

In the same Guardian account, the festival’s top film prize was framed as a repeat win for Mungiu, with “Fjord” repeating the trick of his earlier Palme success 19 years after “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.”

The Palme d’Or win for “Fjord” positioned Neon for another awards-season push, with The Hollywood Reporter noting that Tom Quinn’s indie outfit snatched up “Fjord” for domestic release ahead of this year’s festival.

The Guardian also tied the prize to Neon’s momentum, stating that “Fjord has already been acquired by US distributor Neon: this is their seventh consecutive year taking the top spot.”

In addition to the main prize, the Cannes ceremony distributed honors across multiple categories, with the best actor prize going jointly to Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne for “Coward” and the best actress prize shared by Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto for “All of a Sudden.”

The Guardian reported that Valeska Grisebach’s “The Dreamed Adventure” took the Jury Prize, and that Park Chan-wook presided over the jury that included Demi Moore, Stellan Skarsgård, Chloé Zhao and Paul Laverty.

Outside the main competition, the Guardian said the Camera d’Or for best first film went to Marie Clémentine Dusabejambo’s “Ben’Imana,” and it noted that Isabelle Huppert paid special tribute during the closing ceremony to Barbra Streisand, who was prevented from visiting by a knee injury.