Romanian director Cristian Mungiu took home the top prize at the 79th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday for his culture-war drama Fjord.

Fjord, which centers on an immigrant family living in Norway, received the Palme D’Or for best film during the closing ceremony held at the Grand Théâtre Lumière in Cannes, France. It stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve.

It’s the second Palme D’Or for Mungiu, who received his first in 2007 for the film 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days.

In his acceptance speech, Mungui said that, in making the film, “We took the risk to speak aloud about things that many of us know and many of us share … but don’t dare to say in public.”

And he urged artists to tackle current issues, however uncomfortable.

“Today, the society is split, it’s divided, it’s radicalized,” he said. “This film is a pledge against any kind of fundamentalism. It’s a pledge for the things we quote very, very often, like tolerance and inclusion and empathy. … These are lovely words, but we need to apply them more often.”

Actress Barbra Streisand, who received the festival’s third Honorary Palme D’Or, could not attend in person because of a knee injury but thanked everyone in a video message.

“In a crazy, volatile world that seems more fractured every day, it’s reassuring to see the compelling movies at this festival by artists from many countries,” Streisand said. “Film has that magical ability to unite us, opening our hearts and minds.”

Twenty-two films were competing for the prestigious prize, including American films The Man I Love (directed by Ira Sachs) and Paper Tiger (James Gray).

Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto shared the best actress honor for the talky, philosophical drama All of a Sudden. Valentin Campagne and Emmanuel Macchia won best actor Award for Coward, about a World War I love story.

Shein, the ultrafast-fashion juggernaut, is buying Everlane, a brand that once pitched millennial shoppers on a vision of fashion with “ethical factories” and “radical transparency” into how its clothes were made and priced.

“This is the start of a bigger chapter for Everlane and the team behind it,” CEO Alfred Chang said in a statement shared with NPR. He did not disclose the size of the deal, but added that Everlane would remain “an independent brand, staying true to our longstanding brand values, sustainability commitments, and exceptional quality.”

Buying California-based Everlane gives Shein a bigger U.S. foothold and access to a higher-end online-retail model. Shein was founded in China but has ballooned into a global giant, up on the latest TikTok micro-trends with dresses under $15 and jewelry under $5.

Shein shelved its plans to become a publicly traded company in either the U.S. or in Europe, as it faced extensive legal complaints and scrutiny by lawmakers on both continents, particularly over its labor practices.

For Everlane, the deal appears to present a lifeline. CEO Chang promised a new era with “expanded global reach, new capabilities, and greater opportunities.”

But Everlane fans mourned online, with posts accusing the brand of selling out and betraying them. A headline by Fast Company declared: “The era of millennial optimism is officially over.”

Once sported by celebrity fashionistas like Meghan Markle and Angelina Jolie, Everlane focuses on minimalist basics and natural fabrics in the “affordable-luxury” category, with tailored shorts for $120 and linen tops for $80.

The company came of age in the 2010s in the wave of trendy direct-to-consumer companies. Like sneaker-maker Allbirds, they wooed shoppers with pitches of sustainability and transparency. (Yes, that same Allbirds in April claimed it was pivoting to becoming an AI company).

Everlane’s finances have faltered in recent years. With debt weighing heavy on the brand, the majority owner, private equity firm L Catterton, decided to sell. Shein and L Catterton did not respond to NPR’s requests for comment. After Puck earlier reported news of the deal, it ricocheted through the fashion world.

“Everlane was built on this brand around sustainability and fewer, better things — and Shein often feels the opposite,” says Katie Thomas, who leads the Kearney Consumer Institute, a think tank inside a consulting firm that works with major retailers and brands.

“The biggest challenge with any value-based product is the price has to be right for the right consumer,” Thomas says. “And Everlane, I think, just was exposed to a category that got crowded.”

Now, brands like Aritzia, Reformation and even Gap are pitching “affordable luxury,” — as is another of Everlane’s rivals, Quince, which is wooing shoppers with much lower prices.

One big question now, Thomas says, is whether a tie-up with a paragon of fast-fashion alienates Everlane’s current clientele — or sways Shein shoppers to trade up.

Shein for years has tried to shed its fast-fashion reputation with sustainability commitments. Another question now: Will it benefit from Everlane’s internal processes? Or will Everlane become a faster-moving trend chaser?

So far, the answers to those questions are murky.

Talk to the passionate team behind KidSTREAM, a new children’s museum in Ventura County, and they’ll tell you about the many lofty goals they have for the 21,000-square-foot space which opened to the public Thursday.

They’ll describe how the museum is the first of its kind in Ventura County and how they hope to make it accessible to as many local children as possible through outreach, discounts and free programming.

They’ll explain how the immersive exhibits highlight the county’s unique industry and geography, including an agriculture area where young visitors can pick pretend fruits and sell them at a farmers market and an ocean exhibit where miniature replicas of the Channel Islands emerge from the bouncy blue “Pacific Ocean.”

Avery Hanchar, right, and her brothers Oliver and Carter, test their climbing and balancing skills.

They’ll share that the STREAM in KidSTREAM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts and Math, and talk about the activity carts and art projects that will enhance and support learning for young visitors.

But they are also well aware that for some families, the still-evolving space will serve a less highfalutin, if just as important, goal.

“Parents are looking for a good nap on the way home,” said KidSTREAM founder Kristie Akl. “And we can give them that too.”

Akl, along with KidSTREAM board chairman Bryan Yee and guest experience director Dani Hildreth, were giddy with excitement as they took me on a tour of the museum in the days before it opened.

This moment had been a long time coming, they said.

A high-energy former high school biology teacher with a make-it-happen spirit, Akl first began dreaming about a children’s museum in Ventura County in 2013 after taking her three daughters to KidSpace, a children’s museum in Pasadena founded by members of the Caltech community in 1979.

Akl loved Kidspace, but it was a full hour from the family’s house in Camarillo and she longed for something similar closer to home. For two years, she tried convincing others to create a children’s museum in Ventura County. When that failed, she formed a fledgling board in 2015 and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2017.

A young guest chases a cloth blown out of the tubes at the museum’s Amazing Airways exhibit.

“I was always optimistic,” she said. “You have to be to do something like this.”

The original plan was to open the museum in 2020, but fundraising efforts were hampered by the 2017 Thomas fire, which destroyed hundreds of homes in the area. A few years later came COVID shutdowns. The delays were discouraging, but Akl and a growing community of motivated believers used the time to build out their proof of concept by bringing science projects to local schools, neighborhoods and community events, creating online workshops and giving farm workers free science kits to help their kids get exploring.

“It was a herculean task and a huge community effort,” Akl said. “Everyone leaned in.”

Today she estimates that the KidSTREAM Children’s Museum touched the lives of 70,000 children in the Ventura area before ever opening its doors.

Luke Delossantos, right, and his son Grayson play pretend.

“They prototyped a lot of ideas,” said Yee, a father of three who took over from Akl as chairman of the board of KidSTREAM in 2022. “That showed us what works and what doesn’t work and what we should do next.”

In 2022, the city of Camarillo donated the building that housed the former public library to the museum and in 2024, the team raised enough money to bring children’s museum specialist Hildreth on board. Construction began in 2025.

In addition to the agriculture and Pacific Ocean areas outside, visitors will find a camping exhibit with an obstacle course, gratitude tree and a series of different shaped tents where kids can play. There’s also a sand pit where children can dig up replicas of pygmy mammoth bones. (The pygmy mammoth is a dwarf species of mammoth that was native to the Channel Islands.) A nature area includes a sensory path designed with the unique needs of neurologically divergent children in mind.

“There are 200,000 kids in Ventura County from a huge range of backgrounds including a lot of farm worker families,” Hildreth said. “The space is designed for all of them, newborn to 10 years old.”

In addition to the outdoor play areas, visitors will find an indoor “makerspace” with a white Lego wall where children can create vertical designs, four tables for art projects and a super-sized Lite-Brite.

Visitors walk through a greenhouse at the museum’s agriculture area.

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“When you are 3 feet tall, it’s your whole field of vision,” Hildreth said.

Admission to KidSTREAM is $16 for adults and children over the age of 1, $13 for seniors and military, and $3 for families with EBT, SNAP or WIC cards. Membership options are also available.

Yee said market research suggests the new museum will reach as many as 150,000 people, and there is still room for expansion.

“We’re 21,000 square feet now with room for growth,” he said. “We’re not stopping, but we’re so excited to open our doors.”