The Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival has been awarded to Romanian director Cristian Mungiu for his film "Fjord," the jury announced on Saturday evening.
The film beat 21 other entries in the competition.
The Jury Prize was awarded to German director Valeska Grisebach for her film "The Dreamed Adventure" ("Das geträumte Abenteuer".) The decision was made by a jury chaired by South Korean director Park Chan-wook.
Morally complex drama
This is already Mungui’s second Palme d’Or. In 2007, his film “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” won the award. With "Fjord," the director has created a morally complex drama about family, upbringing and cultural conflicts.
Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve play a strictly religious Romanian-Norwegian couple who move to a remote Norwegian village with their five children. When injuries are discovered on their daughter, the parents are suspected of having physically abused their child.
“Fjord” deliberately portrays the conflict between the couple and the Norwegian authorities without offering any easy answers.
Grand Prix for the Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev
The Grand Jury Prize, the festival’s second most important award, went to Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev for his socially critical thriller “Minotaur.”
The film tells the story of a Russian businessman who faces major challenges at his company and discovers his wife is having an affair. Zvyagintsev weaves the story together with the omnipresence of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
The award for Best Director was shared by three directors: Spaniards Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi for the drama “The Black Ball” (“La bola negra”) and Polish filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski for “Fatherland”. The film, starring Sandra Hüller, tells the story of a road trip undertaken by Thomas Mann and Erika Mann through post-war Germany in 1949.
Who else was honoured
Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne were named Best Actors for their roles in the film “Coward” by Belgian director Lukas Dhont. In it, they play two soldiers in the First World War who fall in love with one another.
Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto were honoured as Best Actresses for the drama “All of a Sudden” (“Soudain”). In the film, Japanese director Ryūsuke Hamaguchi crafts a quiet yet haunting drama about two women whose encounter shifts the course of their lives in unexpected ways.
The award for Best Screenplay went to Frenchman Emmanuel Marre for “A Man of His Time” (“Notre Salut”). In the film, the director explores a chapter of his family’s history during the Second World War in France.
Barbra Streisand honoured
French actress Isabelle Huppert paid tribute to US actress Barbra Streisand, who was awarded an Honorary Palme d’Or but was unable to accept the prize in person due to a knee injury. Streisand expressed her thanks via a video message, saying that films have “this magical ability” to bring people together.
