Norway-set drama about political polarization ‘Fjord’ wins Palme d’Or at Cannes

Director Paweł 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)

2026-05-23T05:01:41Z

Cristian Mungiu’s Norway-set drama about political polarization “Fjord” has won the Palme d’Or, the Cannes Film Festival’s top honor that on Saturday went for the second time to the Romanian director of “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.”

This year’s edition of the festival saw few films breakout but “Fjord” found wide admiration for its engrossing tale of what Mungiu called “left-wing fundamentalism.”

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.

Mungiu becomes just the 10th filmmaker to win the Palme d’Or twice. His “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” a Romanian abortion drama, won the award in 2007.

The win also extended Neon’s unprecedented streak of Palme d’Or winners. The specialty label has been attached to the last seven Palme winners.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

The 79th Cannes Film Festival draws to a close Saturday with the presentation of one of cinema’s highest honors, the Palme d’Or. This year, the race may be wide open.

By wide consensus, it hasn’t been a banner festival. Hollywood largely sat out this year’s edition. Many of the selections struggled to bowl over critics. The global buzz that Cannes typically generates was fitful at best.

But the lack of a clear front-runner should give the nine-member jury, headed by Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, a range of possibilities for the Palme. Winning Cannes’ top honor almost immediately raises the international profile of a film, and likely sets it up as an Oscar contender, too.

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Some of the festival’s best received films include Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Fatherland,” a black-and-white postwar rumination on art and politics; Japanese auteur Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden,” a tender three-hour elder care opus; Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev’s “Minotaur,” a drama of crime and punishment in contemporary Russia; and Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu’s Norway-set child services nightmare “Fjord.”

But on the second-to-last day of the festival, a possible dark horse emerged. Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s “The Black Ball” found one of Cannes’ most passionate receptions. The sprawling Spanish film tells a story of three gay men across generations.

But few awards are harder to predict than the Palme d’Or. The jury’s deliberations are entirely private. Any of the 22 films in competition in Cannes can win. This year’s jury also includes Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao and Stellan Skarsgård.

Those who are chosen for a prize — others to be handed out Saturday include best actress, best actor and the grand prix — are asked by the festival to return to Cannes for the closing ceremony. They know they’ve won something, but they don’t know what. Typically, juries award only one prize per movie.

One of the movies’ most extraordinary streaks is on the line. Neon, the specialty label, has been attached to the last six Palme d’Or winners. That includes last year’s champion, Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident” and the 2024 winner, “Anora.” The latter went on to win best picture at the Oscars.

Saturday’s ceremony will be missing its tribute honoree. Barbra Streisand was to receive an honorary Palme d’Or, but a knee injury will prevent her from attending. The festival still plans to honor Streisand.

JAKE COYLE Coyle has been a film critic and covered the movie industry for The Associated Press since 2013. He is based in New York City. twitter mailto

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