Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord is officially in the Oscar race. The drama pairing Oscar nominees Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan, which scored the Palme d’Or at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, has been selected by the Romanian Film Center as the country’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards.
Under new Academy rules, Fjord would have automatically qualified for Best International Feature even if it wasn’t put forward by either Romania or one of the other countries that jointly produced the film: France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.
With the king-making Neon as the film’s distributor, expect Fjord to contend in categories beyond international feature, including Best Picture and the directing and acting races.
Here is everything you need to know about Fjord.
The plot
Fjord follows an evangelical family who relocates from Romania to a remote town in Norway. Their lives are upended and the community splits when local child services accuse the parents of child abuse and seize their children after a disciplining incident. In his acceptance speech at Cannes, Mungiu spoke about making the film saying, “We took the risk to speak aloud about things that many of us know and many of us share … but don’t dare to say in public. Today, the society is split, it’s divided, it’s radicalized. This film is a pledge against any kind of fundamentalism.”
The cast and crew
Mungiu is an auteur with the rare distinction of being a two-time Palme d’Or winner following his 2007 victory for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. Oscar nominees Reinsve (Sentimental Value) and Stan (The Apprentice) lead the cast as the embattled parents at the center of the intense community conflict.
Awards chances
When it comes to the Palme d’Or, Neon is the reigning champion. With Fjord‘s victory, the distributor has extended an unprecedented seven-Palme winning streak that stretches back to Parasite in 2019, followed by titles like Anora (the 2025 Best Picture winner). Four of those previous six winners — Parasite, Triangle of Sadness, Anatomy of a Fall, and Anora — went on to secure Best Picture nominations at the Oscars, with both Parasite and Anora taking home the statuette. With that historic track record and two highly respected lead actors at the helm, Fjord is poised to be a top-tier contender for the upcoming awards season.
When can I see it?
Fjord will be released Oct. 9 in North America.
This story was first published on May 26, updated Aug. 27 with new trailer and Sept. 2.
