François Chalais Prize
| François Chalais Prize | |
|---|---|
2026 recipient: Cristian Mungiu | |
| Native name | Prix François Chalais |
| Awarded for | A film dedicated to the values of journalism |
| Country | France |
| First award | 1997 |
| Currently held by | Cristian Mungiu for Fjord (2026) |
The François Chalais Prize (French: Prix François Chalais) is awarded on the eve of the official competition awards ceremony and rewards films dedicated to the values of journalism.[1]
It's most recent winner was the drama film Fjord by Cristian Mungiu at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
History
[edit]The prize is awarded at two main events, the Cannes Film Festival (since 1997)[2] and the Young Reporters' Awards (since 1999).[3] It has also offered awards for the Film Festival of Sarlat (2006–2009),[4] and for the Scénario Honfleur (2006–2009).[5]





The François Chalais Prize was created in 1996 by his wife Mei-Chen Chalais to pay tribute to the work of the great reporter and film-maker who covered nearly fifty editions of the Festival.[1]
Its first winner was the Bosnian War drama film The Perfect Circle by Ademir Kenović at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.
Winners
[edit]1990s
[edit]| Year | English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | The Perfect Circle | Savršeni krug | Ademir Kenović | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 1998 | West Beirut | بيروت الغربية | Ziad Doueiri | Lebanon |
| 1999 | The Other | الآخر | Youssef Chahine | Egypt, France |
2000s
[edit]| Year | English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Kippur | כיפור | Amos Gitai | Israel |
| 2001 | Made in the USA | Sólveig Anspach | Belgium, France | |
| 2002 | Marooned in Iraq | گمگشتهای در عراق | Bahman Ghobadi | Iran |
| 2003 | S-21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine | S-21, la machine de mort Khmère rouge | Rithy Panh | Cambodia, France |
| 2004 | The Motorcycle Diaries | Diarios de motocicleta | Walter Salles | Argentina, Brazil, United States, Chile, Peru, United Kingdom, Germany, France |
| 2005 | Once You're Born You Can No Longer Hide | Quando sei nato non puoi più nasconderti | Marco Tullio Giordana | Italy, France, United Kingdom |
| 2006 | Babel | Alejandro González Iñárritu | United States, Mexico, Morocco, France | |
| 2007 | A Mighty Heart | Michael Winterbottom | United States | |
| 2008 | Wild Blood | Sanguepazzo | Marco Tullio Giordana | Italy |
| 2009 | No One Knows About Persian Cats | کسی از گربه های ایرانی خبر نداره | Bahman Ghobadi | Iran |
2010s
[edit]| Year | English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Life, Above All | Oliver Schmitz | South Africa | |
| 2011 | Where Do We Go Now? | وهلأ لوين؟ | Nadine Labaki | Lebanon, France, Egypt, Italy |
| 2012 | Horses of God | يا خيل الله | Nabil Ayouch | Morocco, Belgium |
| 2013 | Grand Central | Rebecca Zlotowski | France, Austria | |
| 2014 | Timbuktu | Abderrahmane Sissako | Mauritania, France | |
| 2015 | Son of Saul | Saul fia | László Nemes | Hungary |
| 2016 | The Student | Ученик | Kirill Serebrennikov | Russia |
| 2017 | BPM (Beats per Minute) | 120 battements par minute | Robin Campillo | France |
| 2018 | Yomeddine | يوم الدين | Abu Bakr Shawky | Egypt |
| 2019 | A Hidden Life | Terrence Malick | Germany, United States | |
2020s
[edit]| Year | English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | A Hero | قهرمان | Asghar Farhadi | Iran, France |
| 2022 | Boy from Heaven | صبي من الجنة | Tarik Saleh | Sweden, France, Finland |
| 2023 | Four Daughters | بنات ألفة | Kaouther Ben Hania | Tunisia, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia |
| 2024 | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | دانهی انجیر معابد | Mohammad Rasoulof | Iran, Germany, France[6] |
| 2025 | Two Prosecutors | Zwei Staatsanwälte | Sergei Loznitsa | Latvia, France, Germany, Netherlands, Romania, Lithuania |
| 2026 | Fjord | Cristian Mungiu | Romania, Norway, Denmark, France, Sweden[7] | |
References
[edit]- 1 2 Bensignor, François (2015-10-01). "Le Raï fête ses 30 ans". Hommes & Migrations (1312): 150–155. doi:10.4000/hommesmigrations.3536. ISSN 1142-852X.
- ↑ "Prix François Chalais Cannes". francois-chalais.fr (in French). Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ↑ "Prix des Jeunes Reporters". francois-chalais.fr (in French). Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ↑ "Prix Francois Chalais Sarlat". Prix des Jeunes Reporters (in French). Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ↑ "Prix du scénario Honfleur". Prix des Jeunes Reporters (in French). Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ↑ "Au Festival de Cannes, il n'y a pas que la Palme d'or, voici les autres films primés sur la Croisette". France 3 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (in French). 2024-05-25. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
- ↑ Lodge, Guy (2026-05-23). "Romanian Director Cristian Mungiu Wins His Second Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival for 'Fjord'". Variety. Retrieved 2026-05-30.