Mungiu claims second Palme d’Or at Cannes closing ceremony
The 79th Cannes Film Festival concluded with Cristian Mungiu winning the Palme d’Or for ‘Fjord’, while Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev used the Grand Prix platform to address Vladimir Putin.
Romanian director Cristian Mungiu has secured the Palme d’Or, the highest honour at the Cannes Film Festival, for his drama ‘Fjord’. The award was presented at the festival’s closing ceremony on Saturday, marking the second time Mungiu has claimed the top prize. Having previously won in 2007 for ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days’, he becomes only the tenth filmmaker in the event’s history to achieve this distinction.
‘Fjord’ stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve and centres on a Christian evangelical family from Romania that relocates to a Norwegian village. The narrative explores the clash of values that ensues when the family’s children are taken by child welfare services following incidents of spanking. Mungiu has described the film as a tale of “left-wing fundamentalism”, noting that it questions the progressive values of the depicted Norwegians and their child welfare system.
Addressing the audience, Mungiu framed the film as a commentary on social cohesion. “This is a message about tolerance, inclusion, and empathy. These are wonderful values that we all cherish, but we need to put them into practice more often,” he said. The film is based on true events.
The ceremony also saw Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev win the Grand Prix, the festival’s second prize, for ‘Minotaur’. The war drama depicts a businessman during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Zvyagintsev, who lives in exile in France, used his acceptance speech to address Russian leader Vladimir Putin directly. “Put an end to the carnage, the whole world is waiting for it,” he told the audience.
In other major awards, Belgian actress Virginie Efira and Japanese actor Tao Okamoto shared the Best Actress award for their roles in ‘All of a Sudden’, directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi. Belgian actors Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne shared the Best Actor award for their roles in ‘Coward’, directed by Lukas Dhont. Rwandan filmmaker Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo won the Camera d’Or for best first film for her genocide drama ‘Ben’Imana’, which she dedicated to “the women of my country”.
