Mungiu secures second Palme d'Or at polarised 2026 Cannes
The 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival concluded with a focus on social cohesion and political division, as Cristian Mungiu joined an elite group of filmmakers to win the top honour twice.
Romanian director Cristian Mungiu has won the Palme d’Or at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival for his film 'Fjord', a tense family drama starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve. The award was presented at the closing ceremony on Saturday, marking the second time Mungiu has claimed the festival’s highest honour. 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' is set in Norway and is based on true events. 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 explores themes of social cohesion, tolerance, inclusion, and empathy.
The 2026 edition of the festival, the 79th in its history, was characterised by themes of war, memory, political division, and queer identity. It was described as one of the most political in recent years. The nine-member jury, led by a South Korean director, oversaw the awards distribution across the closing ceremony.
Other major winners included the Grand Prix awarded to 'Minotaur' by Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev. The Camera d’Or went to 'Ben’Imana', noted as the first Rwandan film ever selected for Cannes. Double acting prizes were also awarded for 'All of a Sudden' and 'Coward'.
The results were highlighted in FRANCE 24’s special Cannes awards programme, where correspondents Eve Jackson and critic Emma Jones broke down the major winners. Their analysis focused on how the festival became dominated by stories of war, memory, political division, and queer identity, reflecting the broader geopolitical climate.
