On Saturday night, Christian Mengiu won his second Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and Fjord brought Neon the top prize for the seventh year in a row at the Croisette Film Festival.
The win further extends the longevity of the American distributor that broke the modern Cannes record. Neon is in its 79th edition and has already previewed six competition titles: ‘All of a Sudden’, ‘The Fjord’, ‘Hope’, ‘Paper Tiger’, ‘The Box in the Sheep’ and ‘The Unknown’. -Festival deals have been signed, with six chances to continue the streak that began with Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” in 2019, and Julia Ducournau’s “Titan” and Reuben. “Triangle of Sadness” by Ostlund, “Anatomy of a Fall” by Justine Triet, “Anora” by Sean Baker, and “It Was Just an Accident” by Jafar Panahi.
“Fjord” is a notable departure for Mungiu, being his first film to be shot in English and Norwegian rather than his native Romanian. Palme’s directorial debut was 2007’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, which established him as the defining voice of the Romanian New Wave.
“Many of the world’s great filmmakers venture into faraway places and get stuck, but in Mungiu’s case, the journey makes perfect sense. Much of his work focuses on globalization, immigration, Eastern and Western Europe. “The Fjord, despite its vivid new setting, immediately feels like a work of art with his explorative, lively work,” wrote Guy Lodge in Variety, reviewing the film.
South Korean director Park Chan-wook chaired the jury at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, with Chloé Zhao, Demi Moore, and Stellan Skarsgård serving as jurors. Tilda Swinton was awarded the Palme d’Or at the Grand Théâtre Lumière ceremony.
Elsewhere in the competition, stars Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne shared the Best Actor award for Lucas Donn’s World War I drama “Coward.” The Best Actress award was similarly split between Virginie Ephyra, who starred in Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden,” and Japan’s Tao Okamoto. Emmanuel Mare won the screenplay award for “A Man of Our Times.”
Andrei Zvyagintsev’s “The Minotaur” won the grand prize, and Valeska Grisebach’s “A Dreamy Adventure” won the jury prize. The director’s award was shared between Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi for “Black Ball,” and Pawel Pawlikowski for “Fatherland.” The Camera d’Or for Best Feature Film was won by Marie-Clémentine Dusabet-Jumbo for “Ben’Imana,” and the short film Palme d’Or was won by Federico Ruiz for “For the Opponents.”
Barbra Streisand also received an honorary Palme d’Or at the ceremony. Streisand, who was unable to attend due to a knee injury, announced her award via video as Isabelle Huppert presented the award.
