Park Chan-wook, serving as the Cannes jury president, humorously commented on his own record at the festival during the closing press conference of the 79th Cannes Film Festival.
Jury Deliberations and Decisions
Park jokingly admitted his reluctance to award the Palme d'Or, saying, "To be completely honest, I didn’t want to award the Palme d’Or to any of the films because it’s an award that I myself have never gotten. But I had no other choice." Despite the jest, the jury awarded the Palme d'Or to Cristian Mungiu's "Fjord," starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve. Mungiu joins the ranks of filmmakers who have won the award twice, with his first win for "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" 19 years ago.
Shared Honors
The jury, led by Park, gave shared honors in both acting and directing categories. Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto were recognized for their performances in Ryusuke Hamaguchi's "All of a Sudden." For directing, the award was shared between Pawel Pawlikowski for "Fatherland" and Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi for "The Black Ball." Park stood by these decisions, stating, "If you have seen the two films that were awarded the acting award, I’m certain you’d have to agree with our choices." Regarding the directing tie, he emphasized, "Both filmmakers did an amazing job, and we just couldn’t decide if one was better than the other."
Jury Composition and Festival Outcome
The jury comprised Demi Moore, Ruth Negga, Laura Wandel, Chloé Zhao, Diego Céspedes, Isaach De Bankolé, Paul Laverty, and Stellan Skarsgård. The festival favored European films, with U.S. entries like James Gray’s "Paper Tiger" and Ira Sachs’ "The Man I Love" leaving empty-handed.
Park's Career and Cannes History
Park Chan-wook is known for his influential works like "Job Security Area" (2000) and "Oldboy" (2003). His Hollywood profile has risen recently with projects like HBO's "The Sympathizer," starring Robert Downey Jr., and the 2025 drama "No Other Choice," distributed by Neon in the U.S. Park's history with Cannes includes competing with "The Handmaiden" in 2016 and serving as a jury member in 2017.
Source: https://variety.com/2026/film/news/cannes-park-chan-wook-joke-palme-dor-jury-president-1236757779/
