Cannes 2026: Why is Cristian Mungiu’s ‘Fjord’ the most talked-about winner this year?

• Cristian Mungiu won his second Palme d’Or at Cannes.
• Fjord is Mungiu’s first English-language film.
• The movie stars Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan.
• Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Minotaur won the Grand Prix.
• Barbra Streisand received an honorary Palme d’Or.

Cristian Mungiu won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival 2026 for his drama Fjord, nearly two decades after winning the same award for his abortion drama 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.

The Romanian director’s latest film is also his English-language debut. Fjord stars Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan as Romanian religious parents who move to Norway and later face accusations of child abuse.

With the victory, Mungiu became the 10th director in Cannes history to win two Palme d’Or awards. He joined a list of filmmakers that includes Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Haneke, Ken Loach, and Ruben Östlund.

The Grand Prix, which is the festival’s second-highest award, went to Andrey Zvyagintsev for Minotaur. The film is described as a dark satire about corruption and infidelity in modern Russia.

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The Jury Prize was awarded to Valeska Grisebach for The Dreamed Adventure, a drama set in Bulgaria about an archaeologist.

The Best Director award was shared between Pawel Pawlikowski for Fatherland and directing duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi for The Black Ball.

The acting awards were also shared by multiple performers.

Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto jointly won the Best Actress award for their performances in All of a Sudden, directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi.

The Best Actor award went to Valentin Campagne and Emmanuel Macchia for the queer first world war drama Coward.

The 79th Cannes Film Festival had a quieter atmosphere this year compared to previous editions. The festival saw fewer major Hollywood moments and several disappointing returns from well-known filmmakers.

The two American films in competition did not win any awards. These included “Paper Tiger” by James Gray, starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, and “The Man I Love” by Ira Sachs, starring Rami Malek.

Fjord has already been acquired by Neon, the US distributor that has now backed the Palme d’Or winner for seven consecutive years. Sean Baker’s “Anora,” which won the Palme d’Or two years ago, later went on to dominate the 2025 Oscars.

This year’s Cannes jury was led by Park Chan-wook. Jury members included Demi Moore, Stellan Skarsgård, Chloé Zhao, and Paul Laverty.

During the closing ceremony, Isabelle Huppert paid tribute to Barbra Streisand, who received an honorary Palme d’Or.

Streisand could not attend the festival because of a knee injury. Instead, she sent a video message to the audience at the Palais des Festivals.

She said: “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.

“Film has that magical ability to unite us, opening our hearts and minds. I’m so proud to be part of this community, so merci beaucoup and vive la cinema!”

The festival also announced winners in its sidebar competitions.

Sandra Wollner’s Everytime won Un Certain Regard. Marie Clémentine Dusabejambo won the Camera d’Or for Ben’Imana, while Marine Atlan won Critics Week for La Gradiva.

In Directors’ Fortnight, Sarah Arnold’s Too Many Beasts won Best European Film, while Clio Barnard’s I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning received the Audience Award.