79th Cannes Film Festival Winners – Cristian Mungiu’s ‘Fjord’ Wins Palme d’Or

The Norwegian-set drama Fjord, directed by Cristian Mungiu, has won the Palme d’Or at the 79th Cannes Film Festival.

Romanian director Mungiu previously won the Palme d’Or for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile), in 2007

Fjord stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve as a devout Romanian-Norwegian couple who move to a village in the middle of a fjord. However, their lives will be turned upside down when a teacher notices bruises on one of the children. The community wonders whether the Gheorghius’ traditional education could be a factor here.

“It’s important to understand that there is no single truth and that we can survive and live alongside others, even if we do not share the same values. Even if we may be convinced that our values are the best, I do not believe we have the right to impose them on others. Without engaging in this dialogue, we’re going to see high levels of social violence. And this isn’t for our sake — since we’re older — but for our children,” said director Cristian Mungiu.

The Jury, chaired by South Korean director, screenwriter and producer Park Chan-wook, included actress Demi Moore, actress Ruth Negga, Belgian filmmaker Laura Wandel, Chinese director Chloé Zhao, Chilean director Diego Céspedes, actor Isaach De Bankolé, Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty, and actor Stellan Skarsgård.

See the complete list of winners below.

Feature Films

Palme d’or
Fjord
directed by Cristian Mungiu

Grand Prix
Minotaur
directed by Andreï Zviaguintsev

Best Director Prize (Ex-æquo)
Javier Calvo & Javier Ambrossi
for La Bola Negra

Pawel Pawlikowski
for Fatherland

Best Screenplay
Emmanuel Marre
for a Man of His Time

Jury Prize
Das Geträumte Abenteuer (The Dreamed Adventure)
directed by Valeska Grisebach

Best Performance for an Actress
Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto
in All of a Sudden, directed by Hamaguchi Ryusuke

Best Performance for an Actor
Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne
in Coward, directed by Lukas Dhont

Short Films

Palme d’or
Para Los Contrincantes (For the Opponents)
directed by Federico Luis

Un Certain Regard

Un Certain Regard Prize
Everytime
directed by Sandra Wollner

Jury Prize
Elephants in the Fog
directed by Abinash Bikram Shah
1st Film

Special Jury Prize
Iron Boy
directed by Louis Clichy

Best Actor
Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset
in Congo Boy directed by Rafiki Fariala

Best Actresses
Marina De Tavira, Daniela Marín Navarro, Mariangel Villegas
in Siempre Soy Tu Animal Materno directed by Valentina Maurel

 Caméra D’or

Caméra d’or Prize
Ben’imana
directed by Marie-clémentine Dusabejambo
Un Certain Regard

La Cinef

First Prize
Laser-gato (Laser-cat)
directed by Lucas Acher
NYU, United States

Second Prize
Silent Voices
directed by Nadine Misong Jin
Columbia University, United States

Joint Third Prize

Aldrig Nok (Never Enough)
directed by Julius Lagoutte Larsen
La Fémis, France

Growing Stones, Flying Papers
directed by Roozbeh Gezerseh & Soraya Shamsi
Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf, Allemagne

Superior Technical Commission

The CST Award for Best Artist-Technician is presented to Nicolas Rumpl, Head Film Editor of Notre Salut directed by Emmanuel Marre.

« The subtle editorial choices reveal the visual aesthetic, the directorial ambition and the performances of the actors in Emmanuel Marre’s film “Notre Salut”. »

The CST Award for Best Young Female Film Technician is presented to Esther Mysius, Production designer of The Birthday Party directed by Léa Mysius.

« Her meticulous attention to detail allows the sets to Become an integral part of the narrative. »