Cannes awards Palme d’Or to Cristian Mungiu’s Norway-set drama ‘Fjord’

Cristian Mungiu’s “Fjord” won the Palme d’Or at the 79th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, giving the Romanian director his second victory in the festival’s top competition, according to Cannes organizers and AP. The award was announced at the closing ceremony on May 23 in Cannes, France, where the festival’s official winners list named “Fjord” the top feature-film prizewinner. (festival-cannes.com) AP described the film as a Norway-set drama, while Cannes’ own program notes list it as Mungiu’s first foreign-language film and say it is set around a Romanian-Norwegian family living in a remote fjord. (festival-cannes.com) Variety reported that the win made Mungiu the tenth filmmaker to take the Palme d’Or twice, 19 years after his first Cannes triumph for “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.” Cannes said “Fjord” was in the main competition and listed the film’s running time at 146 minutes. (festival-cannes.com) Variety also reported that the film stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve. ### What exactly is “Fjord” about? Cannes described “Fjord” as the story of the Gheorghius, a devout Romanian-Norwegian couple who resettle in a village on a distant fjord and become close to neighboring family the Halbergs. The festival synopsis says the families’ children bond despite being raised differently. (festival-cannes.com) The Cannes program notes say the plot turns when adolescent Elia Gheorghiu appears at school with bruises, prompting questions in the community about the family’s traditional child-rearing. AP characterized the film more broadly as a Norway-set drama about political polarization. (variety.com) ### Why is this Palme d’Or notable for Mungiu? Variety said the award is Mungiu’s second Palme d’Or, placing him among a small group of two-time winners. Cannes, in a separate festival note published before the awards, said he returned to competition nearly 20 years after winning for “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.” (festival-cannes.com) Cannes also described “Fjord” as Mungiu’s first foreign-language film. The festival lists Romania, France, Norway, Sweden and Denmark among the production countries, underscoring the film’s multinational backing. (festival-cannes.com) ### What did Mungiu say after winning? Cristian Mungiu told reporters after the ceremony that “there is no single truth” and said people must be able to live alongside others even when they do not share the same values, according to Cannes’ winners press conference summary. He added that without dialogue, “we’re going to see high levels of social violence.” (variety.com) Variety reported that Mungiu struck a cautious note in his acceptance remarks, saying awards are contextual and that it can take “10, 20 years” to know which films endure. (festival-cannes.com) ### Who else won at Cannes this year? The festival’s May 23 winners list named Andrey Zvyagintsev’s “Minotaure” for the Grand Prix, Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi and Pawel Pawlikowski for the ex-aequo Best Director Prize, and Emmanuel Marre for Best Screenplay for “Notre Salut.” Cannes also awarded the Jury Prize to Valeska Grisebach’s “Das Geträumte Abenteuer.” (festival-cannes.com) The same official list gave Best Performance for an Actress to Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto in “Soudain,” and Best Performance for an Actor to Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne in “Coward.” (variety.com) ### What happens after the award ceremony? The Cannes Film Festival published its official winners list on May 23, formalizing the competition results before the market shifts to distribution and release plans. Cannes lists Goodfellas and Le Pacte on the “Fjord” page, while Variety reported that Neon is the film’s U.S. distributor. (festival-cannes.com) AP reported on the awards after the ceremony, and Cannes followed on May 24 with a press-conference summary featuring Mungiu and the other winners. The next concrete milestone is the film’s commercial rollout, with buyers and distributors expected to move from festival awards to acquisition and release discussions. (festival-cannes.com) (apnews.com)