The film stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Rensvær in the lead roles. The film tells the story of a couple who immigrated from Romania to Norway. After being accused of ”beating” their child, the Norwegian child welfare office separates the couple from their child.
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Romanian director Christian Mungiu's Norway-centric film about political polarization, "Fiord," has won the top prize at the 79th Cannes Film Festival. It is Mungiu's second Palme d'Or. He is also the tenth director to win a double Palme d'Or. He previously won the award in 2007 for his film "Four Months, Three Weeks and Two Days." His films "Beyond the Hills" won Best Screenplay in 2012 and "Graduation" won Best Director in 2016.
"Fiord" received widespread praise at the Cannes ceremony on Saturday evening. The film stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Rensvägen. The film tells the story of a couple who emigrate from Romania to Norway. In which the Norwegian Child Services Office separates the couple from their children after they are accused of ‘beating’ their child. Director Munjiu told the film from a ‘hard-left’ perspective, and this story was very popular at Cannes.
‘Today’s society is divided, polarized, and becoming more radical’ After being awarded the Palme d’Or, director Munjiu said, ‘This film is a pledge against any kind of conservatism.’ It is also a pledge to things like trauma, inclusion, and empathy that we have been saying over and over again. We need to put these beloved words into practice more and more.’
‘Fiord’s’ win has further helped create waves at Cannes. While critic Peter Bradshaw in ‘The Guardian’ gave the film only two stars. Cannes has been consistently dominated by thematic films in recent times. American distributor and independent film production company Neon has also set a record for winning the Palme d'Or for the seventh consecutive time at Cannes with 'Fiord'. Last year's Jafar Panahi's 'It Was Just an Accident' and the 2024 winner 'Enora' were also Neon's films. 'Enora' later won the best film at the Oscars.
Similarly, the second place 'Grand Prix' was won by Russian director Andrei Zvyagintsev's film 'Minotaur'. Inspired by Claude Chabrol's old film 'The Unfaithful Wife', this film is based on the thriller genre against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war. The film tells the story of a Russian businessman who suspects his wife of having an immoral relationship with one of his own workers, and the responsibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin to send 150 of his workers to the war. Zvyagintsev said, “The only person who can stop this genocide is you, the Russian president, put an end to it. The whole world is waiting for your move.”
The nine-member jury was led by Korean film director Park Chan-wook. Demi Moore, Chloe Zhao and Stellan Skarsgård were also on the jury. “To be honest, I didn’t want to give the Palme d’Or to any film, because it’s an award I’ve never received myself,” Chan-wook told reporters after the ceremony, laughing, “but I had no other choice.”
Similarly, among other major awards, the Cannes Best Director award went to two people this time. Poland’s Pawel Pawlikowski won for “Fatherland” and Spain’s Javier Ambrosio and Javier Calvo for “The Black Ball.” This was the second time Pawlikowski had won the same Cannes award for multiple films, after his 2018 film "Cold War."
Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto, the stars of Ryusuke Hamaguchi's "All of a Sudden," won the Best Actress award, while the Best Actor award went to "Coward" stars Emmanuelle Machias and Valentin Campagne. The Best Screenplay award went to Emmanuelle Marre for "A Man of His Time." Third place went to German filmmaker Valeska Griesbach's "The Dreamed Adventure." The Cannes Camera d'Or award went to "Ben'Imana."
