The top prize at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival—the Palme d’Or—was awarded to Romanian director Cristian Mungiu’s film Fjord.
Based on real events, the film explores conflict over traditional values. The story follows a family of Romanian evangelicals who relocate to a small Norwegian town by a fjord. One of the leading roles was played by Sebastian Stan, who previously portrayed Donald Trump in The Apprentice: The Rise of Trump.
The festival’s Grand Prix, its second-highest honor, went to Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev for Minotaur. The film follows the head of a Russian company who discovers his wife’s affair while preparing mass layoffs. The movie has been described as “an intimate drama” set against the backdrop of modern Russia.
During the awards ceremony, Zvyagintsev addressed Vladimir Putin from the stage and called for an end to the war.
“Millions of people on both sides of the front line dream of only one thing: that the slaughter finally stops. And the only person who can stop this bloodshed is the president of the Russian Federation,” the director said.
The award for Best Director was shared by Spanish filmmakers Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo for La Bola Negra, along with Polish director Paweł Pawlikowski for Fatherland.
“Cinema should reflect the political situation, but not at someone’s command. Art needs space for freedom,” Pawlikowski said during the ceremony.