The glamorous world of Cannes and the reality of the world outside, amidst wars and inequalities, from Russia to Palestine, from Rwanda to rights at risk, found a constant point of contact at the closing ceremony of the 79th edition, where the jury chaired by Park Chan Wook awarded the Palme d'Or to Fjord by Romanian director Cristian Mungiu , who won the festival's top prize for the second time, 19 years after winning the Palme d'Or in 2007 for 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days. In Fjord, starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve, the filmmaker tells the story of an immigrant couple who end up under fire for the way they raise their children.
"I think it's important in cinema to talk about relevant issues," he explained in his acceptance speech, "that are easily accessible and help us understand the direction the world is going." "What I perceive is that today's societies are fragmented and radicalized. And this film is also a commitment against all forms of fundamentalism," he added. "It's a message of tolerance, inclusion, and empathy. These are wonderful terms that we all love, but we need to put them into practice more often."
Russian dissident Andrei Zviagyntsev, winner of the Grand Prix for Minotaur, made even more direct use of the stage, addressing Vladimir Putin directly : "Millions of people on both sides of the line dream of only one thing: for the massacres to finally end. And the only person who can put an end to this carnage is the President of the Russian Federation. Put an end to this carnage! The whole world is waiting for him."
Another common thread throughout the evening was the tie-breaking winners: the Best Director award went to Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo for La bola negra (their reference to LGBTQ rights, while Penelope Cruz, the film's co-star, was moved to tears in the audience) and Pawel Pawlikowski for Fatherland, who recalled the importance of human creativity in defeating the algorithm. There were also a double winner (from the same film) for Best Actress and Actor: Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto for Hamaguchi Ryusuke's All of a Sudden, and Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne, twenty-something and intense protagonists (and the most enthusiastic winners of the evening) for Lukas Dhont's Coward, who hope the film, about a homosexual love that blossoms on the front line, will help young people experiencing the same inner turmoil to accept themselves.
Emmanuel Marre, winner of the Best Screenplay award for A Man of His Time (Notre salut), emphasized how the film, set during the Vichy era, is about petty tyrants, "the same ones who today, when they are in charge of a state, themselves or a company, or whatever, discriminate, bomb, and commit genocide." A reference that Xavier Dolan made, introducing the award for best director, by reciting verses by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish.
Among the evening's queens was Isabelle Huppert, who paid a passionate tribute to Barbra Streisand, one of her 2026 Palme d'Honneur recipients (the other went to Peter Jackson), who remained in the US due to a knee injury. " In Barbra Streisand, thought and spectacle, intelligence and popular charm coexist. I deeply love the idea that one can be, in the same body, singer and director, actress and writer, but behind the immense voice there is always a single woman, before her score, before her text, before her film." An artist always "at the forefront of the fight for women's rights and their role in cinema, a fervent supporter of LGBTQ+ rights."
In a fitting duet, Streisand responded in a video message: "In a crazy and unstable world, one that seems to be hit harder every day, it's reassuring to see the films competing at this festival, made by artists from so many countries. Cinema has this magical ability to unite us, to open our hearts and minds. And that's exactly what we celebrate at Cannes."
(Unioneonline)
