Mungiu wins his second Palme d’Or with ‘Fjord’ and Los Javis share the Best Director award with Pawlikowski
The Romanian director Cristian Mungiu has won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes festival with Fjord, a film as uncomfortable as it is necessary, which was among the favorites in a rather uncertain 79th edition. With the audience giving a standing ovation, Mungiu went up to the stage of the grand Lumière theater to receive from Tilda Swinton an award he had already won in 2007 with 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. “It is necessary to talk about relevant things in a society that has become radicalized, and this film is a message of tolerance,” he said in reference to the plot of the film starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve, which narrates how the traditional and religious values of an ultra-conservative Romanian family clash with the supposed progressive values of Norwegian society. Fjord had also been awarded shortly before with the prize from the international critics (Fipresci), the Ecumenical, and the Citizenship awards.
