Fjord wins Palme d'Or at Cannes

Cristian Mungiu’s “Fjord” won the Palme d’Or on May 23 at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, giving the Romanian director a second victory in Cannes’ top competition. The award was presented at the closing ceremony in Cannes, France, after the festival’s May 12-23 run, according to the official winners list published by Festival de Cannes. Deadline and other trade outlets listed “Fjord” as the top winner from the closing-night ceremony. The Cannes jury this year was chaired by South Korean director Park Chan-wook. ### Who made “Fjord,” and why is this Cannes win notable? Cristian Mungiu directed “Fjord,” and Cannes’ official site listed the film in the 2026 Competition lineup before it won the festival’s highest prize. Deadline reported that the drama stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve. The Associated Press said the win marked Mungiu’s second Palme d’Or, after “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.” (festival-cannes.com) Festival de Cannes published a separate May 23 item for the Palme d’Or photocall naming “FJORD by Cristian MUNGIU.” The official winners release also showed Tilda Swinton presenting the Palme d’Or to the film. ### What exactly did Cannes announce on closing night? The Festival de Cannes winners list, published May 23, named “FJORD directed by Cristian MUNGIU” as the Palme d’Or winner in the feature film competition. (festival-cannes.com) The same release said the Grand Prix went to “MINOTAURE” by Andreï Zviaguintsev, the Jury Prize went to “DAS GETRÄUMTE ABENTEUER” by Valeska Grisebach, and the Best Screenplay prize went to Emmanuel Marre for “NOTRE SALUT.” (festival-cannes.com) The official release also said Best Director was awarded ex aequo to Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi for “La Bola Negra” and to Pawel Pawlikowski for “Fatherland.” Best Performance for an Actress went to Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto in “Soudain,” while Best Performance for an Actor went to Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne in “Coward.” (festival-cannes.com) ### Who decided the prize? Park Chan-wook chaired the 2026 Cannes jury, according to the official winners release. Festival de Cannes listed the other jurors as Demi Moore, Ruth Negga, Laura Wandel, Chloé Zhao, Diego Céspedes, Isaach De Bankolé, Paul Laverty and Stellan Skarsgård. The Associated Press reported that the jury awarded the top honor to Mungiu’s Norway-set drama about political polarization. (festival-cannes.com) AP attributed the description of the film’s subject to its reporting from the ceremony. ### Where does this place “Fjord” in the 2026 festival lineup? Festival de Cannes had already included “FJORD by Cristian MUNGIU” in its April 9 announcement of the 2026 Official Selection. (festival-cannes.com) That lineup placed the film in Competition alongside works by Pedro Almodóvar, Asghar Farhadi, Kore-eda Hirokazu, Hamaguchi Ryusuke, James Gray, Ira Sachs and others. (apnews.com) Deadline’s winners report said Neon entered the awards ceremony with multiple titles in contention, and AwardsWatch said the Palme extended Neon’s run of Cannes winners to seven in a row. AwardsWatch’s count is an interpretation of distribution history, not an official Cannes designation. ### What should readers watch next if they want the full record? (festival-cannes.com) The Festival de Cannes press page now carries the complete winners list for the 79th edition, published on May 23. The festival also posted a dedicated Palme d’Or photocall page for “Fjord,” and trade outlets including Deadline have published full closing-night winner roundups. (festival-cannes.com) (deadline.com)