Romanian director Cristian Mungiu won the top prize at the 79th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday for his culture-war drama Fjord, his second Palme d’Or.
Fjord tells the story of an immigrant family living in Norway
, received the award at the closing ceremony Saturday evening held at the Grand Théâtre Lumière in Cannes, France. It stars Romanian-born actor, Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve.
The film shows liberal-interventionist Norway getting involved in private family affairs in a way that would not happen in Romania, and the two main characters’ fundamentalist Christian faith is held against them in Norway’s secular-humanist environment.
Mungiu received his first Palme d’Or in 2007 for the film 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, a searing tale of abortion during the communist regime.
In his acceptance speech, Mungiu said that, in making the film, “We took the risk to speak aloud about things that many of us know and many of us share … but don’t dare to say in public.
He called on other artists to tackle current issues, however uncomfortable.
“Today, the society is split, it’s divided, it’s radicalized,” he said. “This film is a pledge against any kind of fundamentalism. It’s a pledge for the things we quote very, very often, like tolerance and inclusion and empathy. … These are lovely words, but we need to apply them more often.”
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