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Portrait of The Palme d'Or

General knowledge · Film, TV & games

The Palme d'Or

Instituted 1955

Film prizes — the top award of the Cannes Film Festival

The highest prize of the Cannes Film Festival, awarded by the competition jury since 1955 and named for the palm in the arms of the city of Cannes. Between 1964 and 1974 it was replaced by the Grand Prix du Festival before being restored, and the trophy — a stem of nineteen gold fronds on a crystal cushion — has been made by Chopard since 1998. Only a handful of directors have won it twice, and only two films, Marty and Parasite, have gone on to take the Academy Award for Best Picture.

How to spot them

  • ▸Nineteen fronds of 18-carat gold on a cushion of rock crystal, made by Chopard
  • ▸Named for the palm in the coat of arms of the city on the Croisette
  • ▸Suspended between 1964 and 1974, when the festival gave a Grand Prix instead
  • ▸A jury president each year — Park Chan-wook in 2026 — and a red carpet at the Palais des Festivals

Key facts

Marty, the 1955 winner and the first film to take this prize and the Academy Award for Best Picture (1955)

Delbert Mann's film; Parasite repeated the double in 2019–20

The Piano, 1993 — Jane Campion became the first woman to take the top prize at Cannes (1993)

Shared that year with Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine

Pulp Fiction, chosen by a jury under Clint Eastwood in 1994 (1994)

Quentin Tarantino's second feature

A stem of nineteen gold fronds on a cushion of rock crystal, made by Chopard since 1998 (1998)

The trophy itself; the design derives from a 1955 sketch by Lucienne Lazon

Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident, 2025 — completing his sweep of Cannes, Venice and Berlin (2025)

Only the fourth director to win the top prize at all three major European festivals

Cristian Mungiu's Fjord, 2026 — his second, nineteen years after 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2026)

Park Chan-wook presided over the jury; Mungiu became the eleventh double winner

The award that was not given between 1964 and 1974, when a Grand Prix stood in its place (1964)

It was restored in 1975

Quick-fire facts

  • •Instituted in 1955 and named for the palm in the arms of the city of Cannes
  • •It was replaced by the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film from 1964 to 1974
  • •The trophy has been made by the Swiss jeweller Chopard since 1998: 118 grams of 18-carat gold in nineteen fronds, set on rock crystal
  • •Jane Campion was the first woman to win, for The Piano in 1993; Julia Ducournau (Titane, 2021) and Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall, 2023) followed
  • •Only two films have won both this and the Academy Award for Best Picture: Marty (1955) and Parasite (2019)
  • •Eleven directors have won twice, among them Francis Ford Coppola, the Dardenne brothers, Michael Haneke, Ken Loach and Ruben Östlund
  • •Jafar Panahi won in 2025 with It Was Just an Accident, his first film after release from prison in Iran
  • •Cristian Mungiu won in 2026 for Fjord, his second after 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days in 2007
  • •An Honorary Palme d'Or for career achievement has been given since 2002, beginning with Woody Allen
  • •A separate Short Film Palme d'Or is awarded for short films, and a Palm Dog is handed out unofficially for the best canine performance

Drill it — 7 cards

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Sources