Cristian Mungiu's thought-provoking drama 'Fjord' about a Christian family in Norway won the Palme d'Or at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday. This marks Mungiu's second Palme d'Or, following his 2007 win for '4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days', making him only the 10th filmmaker to achieve this feat.

The film, starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve, centers on the clash of values when a religious family relocates from Romania to a Norwegian village. It tells the story of evangelicals who move to Norway, only to have their children taken by child services for spanking them. Mungiu has described it as a tale of 'left-wing fundamentalism'.

Based on true events, the film questions the supposedly progressive values of the Norwegians depicted and the child welfare system. 'This is a message about tolerance, inclusion, and empathy. These are wonderful values that we all cherish, but we need to put them into practice more often,' Mungiu told the audience.

The Grand Prix (second prize) went to Russian war drama 'Minotaur' by Andrey Zvyagintsev, which depicts a callous businessman caught up in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Zvyagintsev, now living in exile in France, addressed Russian President 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 their roles in nursing home drama 'All of a Sudden' by Ryusuke Hamaguchi. Belgian duo Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne shared the male best actor award for their roles in gay World War I drama 'Coward' directed by Lukas Dhont.

Rwandan filmmaker Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo won the Camera d'Or for best first film for her genocide drama 'Ben'Imana', which she dedicated to 'the women of my country'.

Source: www.aljazeera.com