The 79th Cannes Film Festival concluded with the awarding of the Palme d’Or to ‘Fjord,’ a multilingual drama by Romanian director Cristian Mungiu. This film stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve as a Christian couple accused of child abuse, exploring tensions between religious conservatism and social liberalism.

Mungiu, speaking on stage in both English and French, emphasized the importance of addressing societal divisions through cinema. He noted that society is increasingly split and radicalized, exemplified in ‘Fjord’ where a family matter becomes a public debate when child protection services are involved.

This marks Mungiu’s second Palme d’Or win, the first being in 2007 for ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.’

The festival was relatively subdued compared to previous years, impacted by the absence of major American studios and globally recognized stars. The main competition lacked a standout favorite, contributing to a muted atmosphere despite the presence of commendable films.

The jury head, filmmaker Park Chan-wook, highlighted the diversity of the panel, which included actress Demi Moore and director Chloé Zhao among others.

Three top prizes, including best director, actress, and actor, had multiple winners. Polish director Paweł Pawlikowski won best director for ‘Fatherland,’ sharing the honor with Spanish filmmakers Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi for ‘La Bola Negra.’ Their film spans various historical periods, connecting the stories of men intertwined with an unfinished play by Federico García Lorca, a writer murdered at the onset of the Spanish Civil War.