Romanian director Cristian Mungiu won the Palme d’Or for the second time with “Fjord,” a Norwegian-set drama centered on clashing cultures that turn tense when child-protection services get involved. Across the awards ceremony at Cannes, filmmakers used the st
When the Palme d’Or was finally announced. it landed on “Fjord. ” a Norwegian-set film that starts with a family’s attempt to build a new life—and quickly becomes a fight over values. Romanian director Cristian Mungiu. fresh off his second Palme d’Or. made the case for tolerance. inclusion and empathy as the credits rolled for the Cannes Film Festival’s top prize on Saturday. May 23.
Mungiu’s “Fjord” returned him to the very club he joined in 2007. That earlier Palme d’Or came for “4 Months. 3 Weeks and 2 Days.” On this night in Cannes. he stood before an audience that included celebrities introducing the awards in a ceremony described as largely free of politics and heavy on praise for cinema.
The story behind the award offered its own kind of tension: the film stars Sebastian Stan as a Romanian IT specialist who decides to move his family of seven to the Norwegian village where his wife. played by Renate Reinsve from “Sentimental Value. ” was born. In “Fjord. ” cultural differences on child-rearing take an extreme turn when child-protection services become involved. pushing the family’s private beliefs into the open.
This was the tension the jury seemed to reward. This year’s jury president. South Korean director Park Chan-wook. praised “Fjord” for helping shed light on understanding different views “in an artistically magnificent manner.” Park’s praise landed as celebrities—including Geena Davis. Tilda Swinton and Gael García Bernal—appeared on stage as prizes were introduced.
Stan. who is known for the “Captain America” trilogy. has also been in the headlines for his portrayal of Donald Trump in 2024’s “The Apprentice.” At Cannes. he reflected on the U.S. under Trump. saying the country is in a “really bad place.” His presence on the festival circuit underscored how the film’s ideas are traveling beyond cinema screens.
Mungiu’s own message was direct. In comments to Reuters after the ceremony, he said, “You need to double-check your beliefs every now and then and make sure that if somebody doesn’t share the same views as you do, it doesn’t mean that he’s right or that you’re right.”
The ripple of that theme showed up across the awards—different stories. different countries. but the same sense of what art can demand from an audience. Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev. who has lived in exile in France since a life-threatening case of COVID-19 during the pandemic. accepted the second-place Grand Prix for “Minotaur” and used his speech to call on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. “I simply couldn’t not say it,” he told Reuters, pointing to Cannes’ prominence as a platform.
In the best actress category. France’s Virginie Efira and Japan’s Tao Okamoto took the stage to share the award for Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s elder-care drama “All of a Sudden. ” wiping away tears as they did. Valentin Campagne and newcomer Emmanuel Macchia jointly received the best actor prize for their roles as World War I soldiers who fall in love in Belgian entry “Coward.” Macchia said he hopes the film will enable young people “to be able to learn to love themselves. ” adding that he was scouted by director Lukas Dhont at a Belgian agricultural school.
The best director prize was shared between Poland’s Pawel Pawlikowski for “Fatherland,” his Thomas Mann drama, and the Spanish duo known as “Los Javis”—Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo—for “The Black Ball,” a Spanish Civil War epic.
Other prizes carried their own cultural weight. The jury prize went to “The Dreamed Adventure,” a drama about an archaeological dig in Bulgaria by German director Valeska Grisebach.
Barbra Streisand was also honored, though she could not attend. The famed singer and actor was given an honorary Palme d’Or in absentia after she could not come to Cannes due to a knee injury. with French screen icon Isabelle Huppert accepting the award on Streisand’s behalf. Streisand, 84, praised cinema’s ability to unite people in a video message accepting the award.
The 79th iteration of the festival kicked off on May 12 with the French romantic comedy “The Electric Kiss.” For Cannes watchers. winning at the festival often signals momentum heading into the Oscars—Palme d’Or winners frequently carry strong awards season momentum. On Saturday night. though. “Fjord” offered more than a career boost: it placed the clash of beliefs. and the human cost of disagreement. at the center of the world’s most watched film stage.
Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Fjord Cristian Mungiu Sebastian Stan Renate Reinsve Park Chan-wook Grand Prix Minotaur Zvyagintsev Vladimir Putin Ryusuke Hamaguchi All of a Sudden Virginie Efira Tao Okamoto Pawel Pawlikowski Los Javis The Black Ball Barbra Streisand Isabelle Huppert Oscars momentum