BUCHAREST: Palm d’or 2026 winner Fjord, directed by Cristian Mungiu and starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve, has qualified as Romania’s candidate for the 99th Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the Best International Feature Film category.
The film secured eligibility following a new rule by the Academy, allowing a non-English spoken film which wins a major film festival to qualify for Best International Feature Film category.
At the Cannes Film Festival 2026, the film also won the FIPRESCI Jury, Ecumenical Jury, François Chalais, and Citizenship Jury independent awards.
Fjord was sold to over 50 territories even before it started shooting in March 2025, in Norway. In the USA the film will be released by Neon. Goodfellas is handling the international sales. The film will be released in France on 19 August 2026.
Written by Mungiu, Fjord tells a story about the encounter between two neighbouring families living in a remote Norwegian village. Mihai (Sebastian Stan) is Romanian and Lisbet (Renate Reinsve) is Norwegian. In the other couple, Mats is Norwegian while Mia is Swedish. Their children go to the same school. The families will have to admit, handle and resolve their different views about family, education and progress. What are the limits of personal freedom and from which moment onwards the society compels you to conform?
“Fjord is a story about irreconcilable views of the world, about conformity, tolerance and the limits of freedom and intimacy”, said Cristian Mungiu in a statement.
A coproduction between Romania, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, Fjord was produced by Cristian Mungiu and Tudor Reu through Mobra Films and coproduced by Why Not Productions, Eye Eye Pictures, Garagefilm International, Filmgate Films, Snowglobe, and Aamu Film Company.
It was supported by the Romanian Film Centre (CNC), the film institutes in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland, and also by Film i Väst, Vestnorsk, Mediefondet Zefyr, Nordisk Film and TV Fond, France 3 Cinéma, Eurimages, Creative Europe MEDIA, in partnership with the Romanian Television (TVR), NRK, DR and YLE, and with the participation of Raiffeisen Bank, Cinema City, Catena, Aqua Carpatica, BCR, Apa Nova, Kaufland, Superbet, Boiron, Dentsu, Provident, Dr. Oetker, Ursus, Cris-Tim, PPC, Domeniile Sâmburești, ETI, Transavia, Borsec, and Groupama.
