The 79th Cannes Film Festival unveiled its winners on Saturday following a two-week parade of international auteurs and global stars on the Croisette. The competition jury headed up by South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook bestowed the coveted Palme d’Or on Fjord, the latest film from Romanian writer/director Cristian Mungiu. It’s the second time that the filmmaker has won the festival’s top prize. Mungiu previously accepted the Palme for his 2007 drama, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. It’s also the seventh Palme d’Or win by Neon, which will release Fjord in the U.S. in the fall.
Starring Oscar-nominees Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan, Fjord earned strong reviews — and a 10-minute standing ovation — following its Cannes premiere. The actors play the parents of a large family in a remote Norwegian town whose lives are upended when the community comes to suspect them of child abuse. Writing in The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney described the drama as a “nuanced reflection on otherness, and how anyone failing to conform to the values of a community invites distrust.”
The Grand Prix prize went to Minotaur, from Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev, who previously received the Cannes award for Best Screenplay for his Oscar-nominated 2014 film, Leviathan. The Best Director race ended with a tie between Fatherland from Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski and The Black Ball, helmed by Javier Calva and Javier Ambrossi. The latter film received the longest standing ovation of any Cannes competition title and features crowd-pleasing supporting performances from Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close.
Fatherland, meanwhile, has stirred Oscar buzz for star Sandra Hüller, who previously headlined the Palme d’Or winning Anatomy of a Fall in 2023. The 2026 jury awarded the Best Actress prize to Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto, the stars of All of a Sudden from Japanese auteur, Ryusuke Hamaguchi. Best Actor honors went to Valentin Campagne and Emmanuel Macchia from Coward, directed by Lukas Dhont.
Read the complete list of winners from the closing ceremony below.
COMPETITION
Palme d’Or: Fjord, Cristian Mungiu
Grand Prix: Minotaur, Andrey Zvyagintsev
Jury Prize: The Dreamed Adventure, Valeska Grisebach
Best Director: Javier Calva and Javier Ambrossi, The Black Ball; Pawel Pawlikowski, Fatherland (tie)
Best Actress: Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto, All of a Sudden
Best Actor: Valentin Campagne and Emmanuel Macchia, Coward
Best Screenplay: Emmanuel Marre, A Man of His Time
Camera d’Or: Ben’Imana, Marie Clémentine Dusabejambo
Short Film Palme d’Or: For the Opponents, Federico Luis
Previously announced prizes include:
Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard Award: Everytime, Sandra Wollner
Jury Prize: Elephants in the Fog, Abinash Bikram Shah
Special Jury Prize: Iron Boy, Louis Clichy
Best Actress: Daniela Marín Navarro, Marina de Tavira and Mariangel Villegas, Forever Your Maternal Animal
Best Actor: Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset, Congo Boy
Directors’ Fortnight
Europa Cinemas Label Award for Best European Film: Too Many Beasts, Sarah Arnold
SACD Prize for Best French Film: Shana, Shana Pinell
Audience Choice Award: I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, Clio Barnard
Carrosse d’Or: Claire Denis
Critics’ Week
Grand Prize: La Gradiva, Marine Atlan
GAN Foundation Award for Distribution: A Girl Unknown, Zou Jing (Pyramide Distribution)
Rising Star Award: Aina Clotet, Alive
SACD Prize: Blerta Basholli and Nicole Borgeat, Dua
Canal+ Short Film Award: Vaterland or a Bule Named Yanto, Berthold Wahjudi
Discovery Prize for Short Film: Skinny Boots, Romain F. Dubois
Immersive Competition
Best Immersive Work Award: Katábasis, Ugo Arsac
Special Mention: The Black Mirror Experience, David Bardos and Damià Ferràndiz
Cinefondation Awards
First Prize: Laser-Cat, by Lucas Acher (NYC, United States)
Second Prize: Silent Voices, Nadine Misong Jin (Columbia University, United States)
Third Prize: Never Enough, Julius Lagoutte Larsen (La Fémis, France); Growing Stones, Flying Papers, Roozbeh Gezerseh and Soraya Shamsi (Konrad Wolf Film University of Babelsberg, Germany) (tie)
Other Awards
L’Oeil d’Or Documentary Prize: Rehearsals for a Revolution, Pegah Ahangarani
Golden Eye Special Jury Prize: Tin Castle, Alexander Murphy
Queer Palm: Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Jane Schoenbrun
Queer Palm Discovery Prize: Flesh and Fuel, Pierre Le Gall
Queer Palm for Short Film: Silent Voice, Nadine Misong Jin
FIPRESCI Award (Competition): Fjord, Cristian Mungiu
FIPRESCI Award (Un Certain Regard): Ben’Imana, Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo
FIPRESCI Award (Parallel Sections): A Girl Unknown, Jing Zou
Ecumenical Jury Award: Fjord, Cristian Mungiu
Cannes Soundtrack Award: Evgueni and Sacha Galperine, Minotaur
François Chalais Prize: Fjord, Cristian Mungiu
Citizenship Prize: Fjord, Cristian Mungiu
AFCAE Art House Cinema Award: A Man of His Time, Emmanuel Marre
Prix du Cinéma Positif: Coward, Lukas Dhont
Palm Dog: Yuri, La Perra
Palm Dog Special Mention: Lola, I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
Trophée Chopard for Female Revelation of the Year: Odessa A’zion
Trophée Chopard for Male Revelation of the Year: Connor Swindells
