The Cesar Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars and BAFTA’s, is unfolding this evening at the Olympia theater in Paris.
This 51st edition could have a Hollywood flavor with Richard Linklater’s “Nouvelle Vague,” a love letter to the French cinematic movement known as the New Wave, leading the race with 10 nominations. The film nabbed its first Cesar Award of the evening for French cinematographer David Chambille.
Jim Carrey will also receive this year’s honorary Cesar award. The actor was greeted by a long ovation. The ceremony’s host, French actor Benjamin Lavernhe, shed tears as he introduced Carrey who sat on the front row alongside Canal+ boss Maxime Saada and “The Artist” star Jean Dujardin. Lavernhe put on a musical show paying tribute to “The Mask,” impersonating Jim Carrey while dressed in the character’s iconic yellow suit. It was the splashiest kick-off of the Cesar ceremony in recent history.
Camille Cottin (“Call My Agent!”) presided over the ceremony and delivered a sharply sarcastic monologue that took aim at mounting criticism of the National Film Board (CNC) and France’s subsidized film financing system at a time when the box office is under pressure.
Cottin mocked those calling for French filmmakers to make more profitable movies. “As of today,” she quipped, “any director whose film draws fewer than 500,000 admissions will have to publicly apologize and go back to school — business school — to relearn their craft.” As for arthouse cinema, “Of course we’ll keep making those — but as short films. Ten minutes max. And let’s avoid niche topics like women, queer people, immigrants, nature or peace. It’s boring,” she said ironically.
Her speech then shifted to a graver tone. “It hurts to imagine a world where thought itself could be killed,” Cottin said. “Culture, universities, research, journalism — these are our lungs. They’re what keep us alive. Without them, we suffocate or turn on each other.”
“French cinema is very much alive. It’s alive and fragile. In fact, I’d even say it’s alive because it’s fragile. You have to make many films for a few wonders to emerge. You have to train many people to strive for excellence. And it’s precisely because art is fragile that we must protect it,” she said.
Besides “Nouvelle Vague,” strong Cesar contenders include Carine Tardieu’s intimate drama “L’attachement,” Dominik Moll’s procedural “Case 137,” set during France’s yellow vests protests and Stéphane Demoustier’s “The Great Arch,” a historical drama starring Claes Bang, with eight nominations each. They’re followed by Hafsia Herzi’s queer coming-of-age story “The Little Sister,” which is in the running with seven noms, and Thierry Kliffa’s “The Richest Woman in the World,” a film loosely based on the 2010 Bettencourt Affair and starring Isabelle Huppert, with six nominations. “Arco,” Ugo Bienvenu’s poetic animated feature produced by Natalie Portman is nominated for four Cesar Awards, alongside Francois Ozon‘s “The Stranger,” an adaptation of Albert Camus’ classic.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Once Battle After Another” won the Cesar Award for best international feature, beating Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” Oliver Laxe’s “Sirat,” Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent” and Guan Hu’s “Black Dog.”
The ceremony also boasted a tribute to French icon Brigitte Bardot who died on Dec. 28 with a retrospective reel of cult scenes in movies such as “And God Created Woman” and “Contempt.”
More to come.
Here are the winners (bolded) of the 51st Cesar Awards:
Best Film
“L’attachement”
“Case 137”
“Nouvelle Vague”
“The Little Sister”
“It Was Just an Accident”
Best Director
Carine Tardieu, “L’attachement”
Dominik Moll, “Case 137”
Stéphane Demoustier, “The Great Arch”
Richard Linklater, “Nouvelle Vague”
Hafsia Herzi, “The Little Sister”
Best Actress
Leïla Bekhti, “Ma Mère, Dieu et Sylvie Vartan”
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, “L’attachement”
Léa Drucker, “Case 137”
Isabelle Huppert, “The Richest Woman in the World”
Mélanie Thierry, “La Chambre de Mariana”
Best Actor
Claes Bang, “The Great Arch”
Bastien Bouillon, “Leave One Day”
Laurent Lafitte, “The Richest Woman in the World”
Pio Marmaï, “L’attachement”
Benjamin Voisin, “The Stranger”
Best Supporting Actress
Jeanne Balibar, “Nino”
Dominique Blanc, “Partir Un Jour”
Marina Foïs, “The Richest Woman in the World”
Ji-Min Park, “La Petite Dernière
Vimala Pons, “L’attachement”
Best Supporting Actor
Swann Arlaud, “The Great Arch”
Xavier Dolan, “The Great Arch”
Michel Fau, “The Great Arch”
Pierre Lottin, “The Stranger”
Raphaël Personnaz, “The Richest Women in the World”
Best Female Newcomer
Manon Clavel, “Kika”
Suzanne Lindon, “La Venue de l’Avenir”
Nadia Melliti, “La Petite Dernière”
Camille Rutherford, “Jane Austen a Gâché Ma Vie”
Anja Verderosa, “L’Épreuve du Feu”
Best Male Newcomer
Idir Azougli, “Météors”
Sayyid El Alami, “La Pampa”
Félix Lefebvre, “L’Épreuve du Feu”
Guillaume Marbeck, “Nouvelle Vague”
Théodore Pellerin, “Nino”
Best Original Screenplay
Dominik Moll, Gilles Marchand, “Case 137”
Pauline Loquès, “Nino”
Holly Gent, Vince Palma, “Nouvelle Vague”
Franck Dubosc, Sarah Kaminsky, “Un Ours Dans le Jura”
Jafar Panahi, “It Was Just an Accident”
Best Adapted Screenplay
Carine Tardieu, Raphaëlle Moussafir, Agnès Feuvre, “L’attachement”
Stéphane Demoustier, “The Great Arch”
Hafsia Herzi, “The Little Sister”
Best Animated Feature
“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”
“Arco”
“My Castle Life: Growing Up in Versailles”
Best International Film
“The Secret Agent,” Kleber Mendonça Filho
“Black Dog,” Guan Hu
“Sirât,” Oliver Laxe
“One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson
“Sentimental Value,” Joachim Trier
Best Original Score
Arnaud Toulon, “Arco”
Olivier Marguerit, “Case 137”
Fatima Al Qadiri, “The Stranger”
Alex Beaupain, “The Richest Woman in the World”
Amine Bouhafa, “The Little Sister”
Best Sound
“Arco”
“Le Chant des Forêts”
“Case 137”
“Nouvelle Vague”
“Leave One Day”
Best Cinematography
Elin Kirschfink, “L’attachement”
Patrick Ghiringhelli, “Case 137”
Marine Atlan, “L’Engloutie”
Manu Dacosse, “The Stranger”
David Chambille, “Nouvelle Vague”
Best Editing
Stan Collet, “13 Jours, 13 Nuits”
Christel Dewynter, “L’attachement”
Laurent Rouan, “Case 137”
Catherine Schwartz, “Nouvelle Vague”
Géraldine Mangenot, “The Little Sister”
Best Costume Design
Céline Guignard, “La Condition”
Corinne Bruand, “Dracula”
Jürgen Doering, “The Richest Woman in the World”
Pascaline Chavanne, “Nouvelle Vague”
Pierre-Yves Gayraud, “La Venue de l’Avenir”
Best Production Design
Jean-Philippe Moreaux, “Dog 51”
Catherine Cosme, “L’Inconnu de la Grande Arche”
Riton Dupire-Clément, “Once Upon My Mother”
Katia Wyszkop, “Nouvelle Vague”
Marie Cheminel, “La Venue de l’Avenir”
Best Visual Effects
Cédric Fayolle, “Dog 51”
Rodolphe Chabrier, Benoît de Longlée, “L’Homme qui Rétrécit”
Lise Fischer, “The Great Arch”
Alain Carsoux, “Nouvelle Vague”
Best First Film
“Arco,” Ugo Bienvenu
“Hearts on Fire,” Aurélien Peyre
“Nino,” Pauline Loqués
“Block Pass,” Antoine Chevrollier
“Leave One Day,” Amélie Bonnin
English (US) ·