The 79th edition of the Festival de Cannes concluded with acclaimed Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu taking home the prestigious Palme d’Or for his film FJORD.
The winners were announced by the festival jury chaired by South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, alongside an international panel that included Demi Moore, Ruth Negga, Laura Wandel, Chloé Zhao, Diego Céspedes, Isaach De Bankolé, Paul Laverty, and Stellan Skarsgård.
Russian director Andreï Zviaguintsev earned the Grand Prix for MINOTAUR, while the Best Director Prize was shared by Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi for LA BOLA NEGRA, alongside Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski for FATHERLAND.
French filmmaker Emmanuel Marre received the Best Screenplay award for A MAN OF HIS TIME, while German director Valeska Grisebach won the Jury Prize for DAS GETRÄUMTE ABENTEUER (THE DREAMED ADVENTURE).
The Best Performance for an Actress award went jointly to Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto for their roles in ALL OF A SUDDEN, directed by acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi.
Meanwhile, actors Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne shared the Best Performance for an Actor prize for their performances in COWARD, directed by Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont.
In the Short Films category, Argentine filmmaker Federico Luis won the Palme d’Or for PARA LOS CONTRINCANTES (FOR THE OPPONENTS).
The Un Certain Regard section saw Austrian director Sandra Wollner win the top prize for EVERYTIME, while Nepali filmmaker Abinash Bikram Shah earned the Jury Prize for his debut feature ELEPHANTS IN THE FOG. French animator Louis Clichy received the Special Jury Prize for IRON BOY.
Actor Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset won Best Actor in the Un Certain Regard section for CONGO BOY, directed by Congolese filmmaker Rafiki Fariala.
The Best Actress prize in the same category was jointly awarded to Marina de Tavira, Daniela Marín Navarro, and Mariangel Villegas for SIEMPRE SOY TU ANIMAL MATERNO, directed by Costa Rican filmmaker Valentina Maurel.
Rwandan filmmaker Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo claimed the Caméra d’Or for BEN’IMANA, which screened in the Un Certain Regard section.
In the La Cinef competition for student filmmakers, LASER-GATO (Laser-Cat) by Lucas Acher from New York University won First Prize. Second Prize went to SILENT VOICES by Nadine Misong Jin from Columbia University.
The Joint Third Prize was awarded to ALDRIG NOK (Never Enough) by Julius Lagoutte Larsen of La Fémis and GROWING STONES, FLYING PAPERS by Roozbeh Gezerseh and Soraya Shamsi from Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf.
The festival’s Superior Technical Commission also honoured editor Nicolas Rumpl with the CST Award for Best Artist-Technician for his work on Notre Salut, while production designer Esther Mysius received the CST Award for Best Young Female Film Technician for her contribution to The Birthday Party, directed by Léa Mysius.
