Cristian Mungiu’s ‘Fjord’ Wins Palme d’Or at Cannes

Director Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo, Camera d'Or award winner for the film "Ben'imana", director Cristian Mungiu, Palme d'Or award winner for the film "Fjord", next to cast members Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan and Tilda Swinton, Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne, co-winners of the Best Actor award winner for their roles in the film "Coward", Isaach De Bankole, Jury member of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, Directors Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, co-winners of the Best Director award for the film "La bola negra" (The Black Ball), Director Pawel Pawlikowski, co-winner of the Best Director award for the film "Fatherland", Director Valeska Grisebach, Jury Prize award winner for the film "Das Getraumte Abenteuer" (The Dreamed Adventure - L'Aventure revee), Director Andrey Zvyagintsev, Grand Prix award winner for the film "Minotaur" (Minotaure), Nadine Labaki, on stage during the closing ceremony of the 79th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 23, 2026. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

CANNES, France, May 23 (Saudi Arabia Breaking News) — Romanian director Cristian Mungiu won the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or on Saturday for “Fjord,” marking his second victory at the festival’s top awards.

Mungiu previously won the Palme d’Or in 2007 for “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.”

“Fjord,” starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve, follows the tensions that emerge after a religious family moves from Romania to a village in Norway, where conflicting values reshape the family’s new life.

The festival’s second-highest award, the Grand Prix, went to “Minotaur,” a drama by Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev centered on a wife’s infidelity.

The best director award was shared by Poland’s Pawel Pawlikowski for “Fatherland,” a drama about Thomas Mann, and Spanish filmmakers Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, known as Los Javis, for the Spanish Civil War epic “The Black Ball.”

The best actress award went jointly to Virginie Efira of France and Tao Okamoto of Japan for their performances in Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden.” Both actors were visibly emotional as they accepted the award.

The best actor prize was also shared, going to Valentin Campagne and newcomer Emmanuel Macchia for “Coward,” a Belgian World War One drama centered on a gay love story.

The jury prize was awarded to “The Dreamed Adventure,” directed by Germany’s Valeska Grisebach. The film follows an archaeological excavation in Bulgaria.

U.S. singer and actor Barbra Streisand received an honorary Palme d’Or but did not attend the ceremony because of a knee injury. French actor Isabelle Huppert accepted the award on her behalf.

In a video message, Streisand, 84, praised cinema’s power to bring people together.