Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu has officially joined one of cinema’s most exclusive clubs. The acclaimed director captured his second Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for Fjord, his English-language debut starring Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan as Romanian parents living in Norway who find themselves accused of child abuse.
The win marks Mungiu’s second Palme d’Or after previously taking Cannes’ top prize in 2007 for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. With the victory, he becomes only the tenth filmmaker in history to win the Palme d’Or twice, joining an elite group that includes Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Haneke, Ken Loach and Ruben Östlund.
Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev took home the Grand Prix for Minotaur, described as a biting satire centered on corruption in modern Russia, while The Dreamed Adventure earned the Jury Prize.
The festival’s Best Director honors were split between filmmaking duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi for The Black Ball and Pawel Pawlikowski for Fatherland.
Acting awards were also shared this year. Valentin Campagne and Emmanuel Macchia won Best Actor for the World War I drama Coward, while Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto shared Best Actress honors for All of a Sudden.
The closing ceremony also paid tribute to Barbra Streisand, who received an honorary Palme d’Or alongside John Travolta and Peter Jackson.
Unable to attend due to a knee injury, Streisand appeared via video message, telling the crowd: “In this crazy volatile world that seems more fractured every day, it’s reassuring to see the compelling movies at this festival, by artists from many countries.”
She added, “Film has that magical ability to unite us, opening our hearts and mind. I’m so proud to be part of this community.”
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