Director Pawe\u0142 Pawlikowski poses for photographers at the photo call for the film ‘Fatherland’ during the 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo\/John Locher)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-05-23T05:01:41Z<\/p>\n
Cristian Mungiu\u2019s Norway-set drama about political polarization \u201cFjord\u201d has won the Palme d\u2019Or, the Cannes Film Festival\u2019s top honor that on Saturday went for the second time to the Romanian director of \u201c4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s edition of the festival saw few films breakout but \u201cFjord\u201d found wide admiration for its engrossing tale of what Mungiu called \u201cleft-wing fundamentalism.\u201d <\/p>\n
The film stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve as Romanian Evangelicals who move to Norway, but soon after have their children taken from them by child services for spanking them.<\/p>\n
Mungiu becomes just the 10th filmmaker to win the Palme d\u2019Or twice. His \u201c4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,\u201d a Romanian abortion drama, won the award in 2007.<\/p>\n
The win also extended Neon\u2019s unprecedented streak of Palme d\u2019Or winners. The specialty label has been attached to the last seven Palme winners.<\/p>\n
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP\u2019s earlier story follows below.<\/p>\n
The 79th Cannes Film Festival<\/a><\/span> draws to a close Saturday with the presentation of one of cinema\u2019s highest honors, the Palme d\u2019Or. This year, the race may be wide open.<\/p>\n By wide consensus, it hasn\u2019t been a banner festival. Hollywood largely sat out this year\u2019s edition. Many of the selections struggled to bowl over critics. The global buzz that Cannes typically generates was fitful at best.<\/p>\n But the lack of a clear front-runner should give the nine-member jury, headed by Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook<\/a><\/span>, a range of possibilities for the Palme. Winning Cannes\u2019 top honor almost immediately raises the international profile of a film, and likely sets it up as an Oscar contender, too.<\/p>\n