Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu won the prestigious Palme d'Or for his drama "Fjord" at the Cannes Film Festival closing ceremony on Saturday.
This marks his second time receiving the top honor, following his 2007 win for "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days."
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Mungiu becomes the 10th director in history to win the Palme d'Or twice.
Film's Plot and Message
The drama stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve as an evangelical family moving from Romania to a Norwegian village.
The story centers on a clash of values when child services seize their children for spanking, based on true events that question Norway's child welfare system.
Mungiu described the film as a tale of left-wing fundamentalism. "This is a message about tolerance, inclusion, and empathy.
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These are wonderful values that we all cherish, but we need to put them into practice more often," he said.
Other Winners
The Grand Prix second prize went to Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev for his war drama "Minotaur," about a businessman during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Zvyagintsev, living in exile in France, told Russian leader Vladimir Putin: "Put an end to the carnage, the whole world is waiting for it."
Belgium's Virginie Efira and Japan's Tao Okamoto shared the best female performance award for "All of a Sudden."
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Belgian duo Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne shared best male actor for "Coward." The Camera d'Or for best first film went to Rwandan filmmaker Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo for "Ben'Imana."
