Cannes Film Festival 2026: Palme d’Or and awards from Mungiu to Streisand

The 2026 Cannes Film Festival has elected its winners. The jury led by the South Korean director, screenwriter and producer Park Chan-wook awarded the Palme d’Or to Fjord by Cristian Mungiu. It is the second Palme d’Or for the Romanian director. It was 2007 when he won with his second work 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days. Fjord instead it is his first film shot abroad (with Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan). The Gheorghiu family, Romanian father and Norwegian mother, moves to a Norwegian village, and makes friends with the neighbors. But when the new arrivals are suspected of disturbing behavior towards their children, their lives are turned upside down. The film highlights the contradictions of a society that proclaims its tolerance, but behaves in the opposite way.

awards to actors

—

Emmanuel Macchia And Valentin Campagne they are the best actors thanks to Lukas Dhont’s film Cowardwhich leads into the trenches of the First World War. “It is a film that talks about the importance of art, of living and of loving. An invitation to young people to accept themselves as they are”, declared the two interpreters. Our Pierfrancesco Favino awarded the Palma to the best actress. Double prize also in this category a Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto (visibly moved), protagonists of All of a Sudden Of Ryusuke Hamaguchiwinner of the 2022 Oscar for Best International Film with Drive My Car. Marie-Lou (Virginie Efira) is the director of a retirement home in the Paris suburbs who fights to introduce a more humane approach to care. His emotional and professional balance is upset when he meets Mari (Tao Okamoto), a seriously ill Japanese playwright and director.

Cannes Film Festival 2026, the direction

—

For the director there is an ex aequo. The Palms go to Javier Calvo And Javier Ambrossidirectors of The black bolafilm inspired by an unfinished story by García Lorca with Penélope Cruzand so on Paweł PawlikowskiPolish director of Fatherlandabout the German writer Thomas Mann and his relationship with his daughter Erika.

Jury Prize and Best Screenplay

—

The Dreamed Adventure Of Valeska Grisebach wins the Jury prize. It is a film that seems to lead towards a sort of Balkan neorealism, while the Grand Prix wins it Minotaur of Russian Andrei Zvyagintsev. If Leviathan was a film about the arrogance of Russian politics, this is an even clearer stance against the regime of Russian President Putin. France, playing at home, is not left empty-handed: A man of his time Of Emmanuel Marre (will be distributed in Italy by I Wonder Pictures – Unipol Biografilm Collection) wins the award for Best Screenplay. The film recounts the era of the Vichy government in France invaded by the Nazis through the figure of the director’s great-grandfather. A family story to draw a bitter portrait of human mediocrity.

Honorary Palm to Barbra Streisand

—

Isabelle Huppert virtually delivers the Honorary Palm to Barbra Streisandunfortunately unable to participate in the Cannes closing ceremony for health reasons. The 84-year-old actress and singer sent a video message to the audience: “In my school there was a small theater that showed black and white films by Fellini, Bergman and Kurosawa. They were so powerful that they are still in my mind. Cinema has the magical ability to open hearts and minds.”

All the winners of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival

—

The winners of the 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival:

• Best film: Fjord by Cristian Mungiu
• Grand Prix of La Jura: Minotaur by Andrei Zvyagintsev
• Best direction: Paweł Pawlikowski for Fatherland; Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi for The black bola
• Best Actor: Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne for Coward
• Best Actress: Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto for All of a Sudden
• Best screenplay: Emmanuel Marre for A man of his time
• Jury Prize: The Dreamed Adventure by Valeska Grisebach