Family drama about polarization wins Palme d'Or at Cannes 2026; see winners

This is the second time that the director has left the French Riviera with the highest honor of the night. The first time was for "4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days", in 2007.
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Romanian Cristian Mungiu won the so-called top prize for auteur cinema this Saturday (23) with the victory of the film 'Fjord' at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. The feature film received the prestigious Palme d'Or at the closing ceremony of the 79th edition of the event. Check out the winners below.
Starring Sebastian Stan ('The Apprentice' and 'Captain America') and Renate Reinsve ('Sentimental Value'), the plot follows the trajectory of the Gheorghiu, a family that decides to leave Romania in search of stability in a remote village in the Norwegian fjords. Their lives are turned upside down when a teacher notices bruises on one of the children, and the community begins to wonder whether the couple's traditional upbringing could be a factor in this case.
This is the second time that the director has received the biggest honor of the night. The first time was for "4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days", in 2007.
Among the productions most praised by international critics, there is also the Polish 'Fatherland', by Pawel Pawlikowski, which received the highest rating from critics and shared the directing award; the Japanese 'All of a Suden', by Ryusuke Hamaguchi; the Russian 'Minotaur', by Andrey Zvyagintsev; and the South Korean 'Hope', by Na Hong-Jin.
The jury for this edition was chaired by South Korean director Park Chan-wook (from 'Oldboy' and 'The Maid'), and the festival took place between the 12th and 23rd of May, bringing together the main productions of contemporary cinematography. The 2026 edition was marked by a profile less focused on major studios, with only two films from the United States in the main selection. Among the highlights praised by critics were productions from Poland, Japan, Russia and South Korea.
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Although Brazil was not part of the main competitive exhibition, it was present in other categories. The Brazilian co-production 'Elefantes na Névoa' won the Jury Prize at the Un Certain Regard exhibition (which takes place in parallel with the main award). The work, a union of investments from Nepal, Germany, Brazil, France and Norway, is written by Nepali Abinash Bikram Shah and does not yet have a release date in national cinemas.
Winners
The Grand Prix, the second most important honor of the night, was awarded to the film by Zvyagintsev, who today lives in exile. Its production tells the story of how the Ukrainian War changed the lives of families; "Millions of people on both sides of the front line dream of just one thing: for the massacres to stop", declared the director in his acceptance speech;
The Cannes 2026 Jury Prize went to 'The Dreamed Adventure', by German director Valeska Grisebach;
The Best Director trophy was a tie between the duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, for 'La Bola Negra', and the aforementioned Pole;
In the acting categories, the festival also chose to reward multiple talents. Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto shared the Best Actress award, while Valentin Campagne and Emmanuel Macchia jointly won Best Actor;
The award for Best Screenplay went to Emmanuel Marre, for the work 'A Man of His Time';
The Golden Camera award, which recognizes debut directors, was awarded to Marie Clémentine Dusabejambo for the film 'Ben'imana'.
Out of competition: the festival screened documentaries by names such as Steven Soderbergh ('Ocean's Eleven' and 'Erin Brockovich') and Ron Howard ('A Beautiful Mind'). Brazilian producer Rodrigo Teixeira was also highlighted with the film 'Paper Tiger', starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson (the couple from 'Marriage Story').

Source: G1