The Cannes Festival is one of the most important events in the world cinematographic industry, and the Golden Palm is its most prestigious award. Throughout history, only ten directors have managed to conquer this honor more than once. This list includes historical names of the industry, such as Francis Ford Coppola, Bille August, Emir Kusturica, and the Dardenne brothers. Recently, Romanian director Cristian Mungiu entered this exclusive group, winning the Golden Palm for Fjord this year and thus joining the other two-time winners in history. But who are these directors who achieved this feat?
Historic Winners
Francis Ford Coppola is the first director to reach this mark, winning in 1974 for The Conversation and returning to the top five years later with Apocalypse Now. The filmmaker became one of the names most associated with the festival, and he himself said that Cannes is “going home” for him. Another historical name on the list is Bille August, who took the Golden Palm for Pelle the Conqueror in 1987, and repeated the feat in 1992 with The Best Intentions, a screenplay signed by Ingmar Bergman. It is also important to mention Emir Kusturica, who won his first Golden Palm at 31 with When Father Was Away on Business and returned to the top with Underground, ten years later.
Shohei Imamura, one of the most awarded filmmakers in the festival’s recent history, also integrates the exclusive Golden Palm group. His first victory came with The Ballad of Narayama in 1983, while the second happened in 1997 with The Eel, sharing the Golden Palm with Taste of Cherry, by Iranian Abbas Kiarostami. In addition, Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne are two other two-time winners of the Golden Palm, having won in 1999 for Rosetta and in 2005 for The Child. Michael Haneke is also an essential filmmaker on the list, having conquered the Golden Palm with The White Ribbon in 2009, and Amour in 2012, consolidating one of the most respected trajectories in contemporary European cinema.
Recently, British director Ken Loach entered the list, winning for I, Daniel Blake in 2016, and for Rifkins Festival, sharing the Golden Palm with Titane, by Julia Ducournau, in 2021. Finally, Azerbaijani director Rustam Kasimov entered this group by winning the Golden Palm for Close in 2023, at the Cannes Festival. This list of two-time Golden Palm winners is a testament to creativity, innovation, and dedication to the craft of cinema.
