The highest honor of the 79th Cannes International Film Festival, the Palme d’Or, has been awarded to ‘Fjord’ by director Cristian Mungiu (Romania). Unfortunately, director Na Hong-jin’s ‘Hope,’ which raised high expectations as the first Korean work to enter the competition category in four years, did not win an award.
Park Chan-wook, the first Korean to serve as the Jury President for the Cannes Film Festival competition category, announced ‘Fjord’ during the closing ceremony on the 23rd (local time) at the Lumière Grand Theatre in Cannes, France. He stated, “This year’s Palme d’Or is awarded to a work that artistically handles the understanding and respect for global diversity.” The film tells the story of a Romanian couple who settle in a remote Norwegian village and clash with their neighbors over religious issues and child-rearing methods.
This is the second time director Mungiu has won the Palme d’Or, following his 2007 film ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.’ After receiving the trophy from actress Tilda Swinton, he remarked, “Today’s society is divided and radicalized,” adding, “This film is a declaration against all forms of fundamentalism. It shows a commitment to values such as tolerance, inclusion, and empathy.”
Immediately after the closing ceremony, during the jury press conference, director Park made the audience laugh with a witty joke using the title of his own film, ‘No Other Choice.’ He joked, “To be honest, I didn’t want to give the Palme d’Or to anyone because it’s an award I’ve never received myself.” He then added, “However, because I ‘had no other choice’ and because there was a movie so good that I simply had to give it, I couldn’t help it.”
The second-place prize, the Grand Prix, went to ‘Minotaurus’ by director Andrey Zvyagintsev (Russia). The film delivers an anti-war message through the story of a CEO who is asked to draft employees for the war in Ukraine. During his acceptance speech, Zvyagintsev addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging him to “end this massacre. The whole world is waiting.”
The Best Director award was jointly won by Javier Ambrosi and Javier Calvo (Spain) for ‘La Bola Negra’ and Paweł Pawlikowski (Poland) for ‘Fatherland.’ The Jury Prize went to Valeska Grisebach (Germany) for ‘The Dreamed Adventure,’ and the Best Screenplay award was given to Emmanuel Mare (France) for ‘Notre Salut.’
The Best Actor award was jointly won by Emmanuel Machia and Valentin Campagne for Lucas Dont’s ‘Coward,’ while the Best Actress award was shared by Virginie Efira and Dao Okamoto for Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s ‘All of a Sudden.’ Singer and actress Barbra Streisand received the Honorary Palme d’Or for her lifetime achievements.
The only Korean win came from director Jin Mi-song, whose film ‘Silent Voices’ took second place in the ‘La Cinef’ student short film competition. The work captures a day in the life of a Korean family who immigrated to New York, USA. Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young congratulated her, stating, “It moved the hearts of filmmakers worldwide, transcending barriers of language and culture.”
