The 79th Cannes Film Festival concluded this Saturday with the crowning of Fjord, the new film by Romanian director Cristian Mungiu. Already a Palme d'Or winner in 2007 for 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 daysThe filmmaker joins the very exclusive circle of directors who have won two Palme d'Or awards.
Mungiu, back to the top
The Croisette has delivered its verdict. After an open competition, with no clear favorite until the very end, the jury, chaired by Park Chan-wook, chose to crown Fjord, a family and moral drama by Cristian Mungiu. The film follows a Romanian-Norwegian couple living in an isolated village on the edge of a fjord, where the community balance falters after the discovery of bruises on a child's body.
With this new Palme d'Or, Cristian Mungiu confirms his major status in contemporary European cinema. Nearly 20 years after his Cannes triumph with 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 daysHe regained the highest step of the Festival with a film driven by an intimate, social and political tension.
A very hotly contested edition
This 79th edition brought together 22 films in official competition. Alongside Park Chan-wook, the jury had to choose between works by, among others, Pedro Almodóvar, Asghar Farhadi, James Gray, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Kore-eda Hirokazu, Paweł Pawlikowski, Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Andrei Zvyagintsev.
The results reflect this close competition. Minotaur Andrei Zvyagintsev wins the Grand Prix, while The Dream Adventure Valeska Grisebach's work receives the Jury Prize. The Best Director Prize is awarded jointly to Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi for The Black Ball and to Paweł Pawlikowski for Fatherland.
Duo performance awards
Another highlight of the evening: both acting awards were given to duos. The Best Actor award went to Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne for Coward, by Lukas Dhont. The Best Actress Award goes to Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto for Suddenly, by Ryusuke Hamaguchi.
The Screenplay Award Our Salvation, by Emmanuel Marre. The Caméra d'or, dedicated to a first feature film, goes to Ben'Imana by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo. The Palme d'Or for short film is awarded to For the contrinantesby Federico Luis.
Un Certain Regard celebrates Everytime
The Un Certain Regard section crowned Every time, by Sandra Wollner. The Jury Prize goes to Elephants in the Mist, by Abinash Bikram Shah, while the Special Jury Prize distinguishes The Corset, by Louis Clichy. Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset is awarded Best Actor for Congo Boyand the award for best actresses goes to Marina de Tavira, Daniela Marín Navarro and Mariangel Villegas for Siempre soy tu animal materno.
An Honorary Palme d'Or for Barbra Streisand
The closing ceremony was also marked by a tribute to Barbra Streisand, who received an honorary Palme d'Or. Absent from Cannes, the actress was honored by Isabelle Huppert, who symbolically presented the award at her request.
