Fjord wins Palme d'Or 2026

Cristian Mungiu’s “Fjord” won the Palme d’Or at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, the festival said in its official winners list published on May 23. The top prize went to the Romanian writer-director’s Norway-set drama starring Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan, closing this year’s competition on the Croisette. The award marked Mungiu’s second Palme d’Or, according to trade coverage published after the ceremony. U.S. distributor Neon also added another Cannes winner to its lineup, extending a streak that Deadline said has now reached seven straight Palme d’Or victories. ### Which film won Cannes’ top prize this year? The Festival de Cannes winners list named “Fjord” as the Palme d’Or winner in the feature-film competition. The official record also showed Tilda Swinton presenting the prize to Mungiu during Saturday’s closing ceremony. (festival-cannes.com) Variety and The Hollywood Reporter identified “Fjord” as a multilingual family drama led by Reinsve and Stan. Variety’s review described the film as centered on a Romanian evangelical family in Norway facing a child-abuse investigation, while AP characterized it as a drama about political polarization. (festival-cannes.com) ### Why is this a notable win for Cristian Mungiu? Variety reported that the award gave Mungiu his second Palme d’Or, after his earlier Cannes victory for “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.” That puts him back at the top of the festival nearly two decades after his first win. (variety.com) AP also described the result as the second time the Romanian director had taken Cannes’ top honor. The festival’s own winners page identifies him as the director of this year’s Palme winner but does not list prior wins, making the trade and wire reports the clearest confirmation of the milestone. (variety.com) ### Who is behind “Fjord” beyond Mungiu? Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve star in “Fjord,” according to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety’s review coverage from Cannes. Deadline reported earlier in the festival that the film received one of the event’s longest standing ovations at its premiere. (apnews.com) Deadline said Neon acquired the film for U.S. distribution and that the Palme d’Or win pushed the company’s streak to seven consecutive Cannes top-prize winners. That count was echoed in other post-awards coverage, making Neon part of the story around the result as well as the film itself. ### Which other films were honored at the closing ceremony? (hollywoodreporter.com) The official Cannes winners list gave the Grand Prix to Andreï Zviaguintsev’s “Minotaure.” Best director honors were shared by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi for “La Bola Negra” and Pawel Pawlikowski for “Fatherland.” (deadline.com) The same list awarded the Jury Prize to Valeska Grisebach’s “Das Geträumte Abenteuer,” screenplay to Emmanuel Marre for “Notre Salut,” actress prizes to Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto for “Soudain,” and actor prizes to Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne for “Coward.” The short-film Palme d’Or went to Federico Luis for “Para Los Contrincantes.” (festival-cannes.com) ### Where does the official record stand now? Festival de Cannes published the full awards roll on its press site on May 23, including the main competition, Un Certain Regard, the Caméra d’or and La Cinef prizes. That page is now the festival’s formal record of the 79th edition’s winners. (festival-cannes.com) Neon is expected to release “Fjord” in the United States later this year, according to AwardsWatch’s Cannes coverage, while the festival’s published winners list remains the reference point for the rest of the 2026 awards field coming out of Cannes. (awardswatch.com) (festival-cannes.com)