Jury president Park Chan-wook addresses press after Palme d'Or announcement at Cannes

Park Chan-wook faced reporters in Cannes on Saturday, May 23, after presiding over the jury that awarded the 2026 Palme d’Or to Cristian Mungiu’s “Fjord.” The closing press conference followed the awards ceremony at the 79th Festival de Cannes, where Mungiu’s film took the festival’s top prize. Trade coverage and the festival’s own press listings show that Park appeared as jury president and that “Fjord” was represented in Cannes by Mungiu and cast members Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan. ### Who was in the room after the Palme d’Or was announced? Festival de Cannes identified Park Chan-wook as president of the 2026 feature-film jury and said he would lead the panel that selected the Palme d’Or winner on May 23. The festival also published a press-conference archive for “Fjord” from May 19 listing Cristian Mungiu, Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve among the participants tied to the film’s Cannes appearance. (festival-cannes.com) The Hollywood Reporter’s awards-night coverage said the post-announcement press conference included remarks from Park, Mungiu, Reinsve and Stan after “Fjord” won the Palme d’Or. That account placed Park at the center of the closing press availability that followed the jury’s decision. ### What exactly had Park’s jury just decided? (festival-cannes.com) “Fjord” won the Palme d’Or at Cannes on Saturday, giving Cristian Mungiu a second victory in the festival’s top competition, according to trade and festival coverage. The film was identified in coverage as a Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve starrer, and the festival’s closing-ceremony notice said Park’s jury would announce the winners from the 2026 Competition on May 23. (hollywoodreporter.com) Variety reported that Park addressed the press after the decision and opened with a joke about the prize itself. According to Variety, Park said: “To be completely honest, I didn’t want to award the Palme d’Or to any of the films because it’s an award that I myself have never gotten.” ### Why was Park’s role notable this year? Park Chan-wook became the first South Korean filmmaker to serve as president of the Cannes jury, according to Festival de Cannes and trade reports published when his appointment was announced. (hollywoodreporter.com) The festival said his jury would choose the successor to the 2025 Palme d’Or winner at the 79th edition’s closing ceremony. (variety.com) Variety and The Hollywood Reporter had separately reported before the festival that Park would head a jury that included figures such as Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao and Stellan Skarsgård. That made his appearance at the closing press conference the capstone to a role Cannes had framed as a first for Korean cinema. ### What do the available records show about “Fjord” at Cannes? (festival-cannes.com) Festival de Cannes logged a dedicated “Fjord” press conference on May 19, several days before the awards, with Mungiu, Stan and Reinsve named in the official listing. That archive provides the festival’s public record of the film’s principal press appearance during the event. The Hollywood Reporter’s awards-night report then tied those same “Fjord” participants to the post-Palme press conference on May 23, alongside Park as jury president. (variety.com) In combination, the festival archive and trade reporting show the film’s team moved from an in-competition press stop earlier in the week to the closing-night winner’s press appearance after the Palme announcement. (festival-cannes.com) ### Where can readers track the next official materials? Festival de Cannes maintains its press archive on the festival press site, including press-conference listings and closing-ceremony materials from May 23. The “Fjord” conference entry and the festival’s jury announcements remain available there alongside other 2026 competition records. (festival-cannes.com) (hollywoodreporter.com)