The drama starring Norwegian star Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan is about a deeply religious Romanian-Norwegian family who move to a coastal town where the children are taken into care by the authorities.
This is Cristian Mungiu's second Palme d'Or. In 2007, he had his big international breakthrough when he won the award for the film "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days".
The second-highest prize, the Grand Prix, was awarded to Andrei Zvyagintsev for the political drama thriller "Minotaur", which is set in Russia in 2022 during the invasion of Ukraine.
The directing award was shared between the favorite Polish director Paweł Pawlikowski ("Fatherland") and Spanish filmmakers Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo for the gay romantic drama "La bola negra".
Swedish Niki Lindroth von Bahr competed in the short film section with her animated doomsday satire "The End", which featured voice work by Alexander Skarsgård and Noomi Rapace, among others, but was not awarded a prize.
This year's jury was led by South Korean director Park Chan-Wook, who was joined by actors Demi Moore and Stellan Skarsgård, screenwriter Paul Laverty and director Chloé Zhao, among others.
Palme d'Or: "Fjord" by Cristian Mungiu
Grand Prix: "Minotaur" by Andrei Zvyagintsev
Jury Prize: “The Dreamed Adventure” by Valeska Grisebach
Best Director: Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo for "La bola negra" and Paweł Pawlikowski for "Fatherland";
Best Actor: Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne in "Coward";
Best Actress: Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto in "Soudain";
Best Screenplay: Emmanuel Marre for "Notre Salut";
Best short film: "Aux contraires" by Federico Luis
Best film in the Un certain regard section: "Everytime" by Sandra Wollner
Camera d'Or (best debut film): Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo for "Ben'mana"
Honorary Palme d'Or: Peter Jackson, Barbra Streisand and John Travolta
