'Fjord' wins Palme d'Or Cannes

Cristian Mungiu’s “Fjord” won the Palme d’Or on Saturday, May 23, at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, according to the festival’s official winners list. The award was decided by the competition jury led by South Korean director Park Chan-wook, Cannes said. The festival ran from May 12 to May 23 in Cannes, France. Trade outlets including Vanity Fair, Deadline and IndieWire also published full winners lists after the ceremony. ### Who made “Fjord,” and why is this win notable? Cristian Mungiu directed “Fjord,” Cannes said in its official palmarès. The festival’s profile of the film described it as Mungiu’s first foreign-language feature and said he returned to competition nearly 20 years after winning the Palme d’Or for “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.” (festival-cannes.com) Cannes and trade coverage said the 2026 win gives Mungiu a second Palme d’Or. Deadline reported that “Fjord” stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve, adding cast detail that helped identify the film for audiences following the competition lineup. ### Who chose the winner this year? Park Chan-wook chaired the feature-film competition jury, Cannes said when announcing the panel and again in its winners release. (festival-cannes.com) The festival said this was the first time a Korean filmmaker had presided over the Cannes competition jury. The 2026 jury also included Demi Moore, Ruth Negga, Chloé Zhao, Stellan Skarsgård, Isaach De Bankolé, Laura Wandel, Diego Céspedes and Paul Laverty, according to Cannes. (deadline.com) The group met during the festival and awarded the prizes on the closing night ceremony at the Grand Théâtre Lumière. (festival-cannes.com) ### What else won at Cannes besides the Palme? Andreï Zvyagintsev’s “Minotaur” won the Grand Prix, according to Cannes. The directing prize was shared by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi for “La Bola Negra” and Paweł Pawlikowski for “Fatherland,” while Valeska Grisebach’s “The Dreamed Adventure” took the Jury Prize. (festival-cannes.com) Cannes also awarded screenplay to Emmanuel Marre for “Notre Salut.” Acting prizes went jointly to Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto for “Soudain,” and to Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne for “Coward,” the festival said. ### Did the jury explain why it picked “Fjord”? Chloé Zhao said at the jury press conference that the panel felt it had no other choice and that “Fjord” “definitely deserved” the Palme d’Or, according to Cannes’ account of the post-awards remarks. (festival-cannes.com) Cannes’ summary of the press conference did not provide a longer formal jury statement in the excerpt surfaced in search results, but it did record Zhao describing the decision in direct terms. Cannes’ own film note on “Fjord” said the story is set in Norway and described the setting as a picturesque Scandinavia that is “shredded to pieces” by Mungiu’s filmmaking approach. That description came from the festival’s editorial profile rather than the jury. ### Where can readers check the result for themselves? (festival-cannes.com) The Festival de Cannes published the official winners list on May 23 in both French and English. Vanity Fair, Deadline and IndieWire each posted full-roundup coverage after the ceremony on May 23 and May 24. Readers tracking the aftermath can also look to distributor announcements and release plans for “Fjord,” which had not been detailed in the official Cannes winners release. (festival-cannes.com 1) (festival-cannes.com 2)