Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague has topped the nominations for the 51st edition of France’s César awards.
Linklater’s ode to the French new wave was nominated in 10 categories, including for best director, film, original screenplay and cinematography.
Carine Tardieu’s family drama The Ties That Bind Us, Dominik Moll’s Case 137 and Stéphane Demoustier’s The Great Arch followed behind with eight nominations each.
Other frontrunners include Hafsia Herzi’s The Little Sister and Thierry Khifla’s The Richest Woman In The World, with seven and six nominations each.
The nominations were unveiled by Patrick Sobelman and Ariane Toscan du Plantier, presidents of the Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques, or César Academy, in Paris on Wednesday.
The awards covering 24 categories are voted on by the 4,955 members of the César Academy, which said participation stood at 71.87% in the first round of voting with 3,561 votes.
The second round of voting opens on February 4 and closes on February 24.
Just prior to revealing the nominations, the academy also announced it was moving the ceremony’s previously announced date to avoid clashing with a major televised charity event.
The awards will now take place on February 26, instead of February 27, at the l’Olympia concert hall in Paris, presided over by Camille Cottin and presented by Benjamin Lavernhe with support from a variety of French cinema artists.
Jim Carrey will receive the honorary César this year, following in the wake of Julia Roberts (2025), Christopher Nolan (2024), David Fincher (2023) Cate Blanchett (2022), Robert Redford (2019) and George Clooney (2017).
Full List of 2026 César Nominations
Best Film
- The Ties That Bind Us, produced by Fabrice Goldstein, Antoine Rein, directed by Carine Tardieu
- Case 137, produced by Caroline Benjo, Barbara Letellier, Carole Scotta, directed by Dominik Moll
- Nouvelle Vague, produced by Michèle Pétin, Laurent Pétin, directed by Richard Linklater
- The Little Sister, produced by Julie Bily, Naomi Denamur, directed by Hafsia Herzi
- It Was Just An Accident, produced by Philippe Martin, directed by Jafar Panahi
Best Director
- Carine Tardieu, The Ties That Bind Us
- Dominik Moll. Case 137
- Stéphane Demoustier, The Great Arch
- Richard Linklater, Nouvelle Vague
- Hafsia Herzi, The Little Sister
Best Original Screenplay
- Dominik Moll, Gilles Marchand, Case 137
- Pauline Loquès, Nino
- Holly Gent, Vince Palmo, Nouvelle Vague
- Franck Dubosc, Sarah Kaminsky, How To Make A Killing
- Jafar Panahi, It Was Just An Accident
Best Screenplay Adaptation
- Carine Tardieu, Raphaële Moussafir, Agnès Feuvre, The Ties That Bind
- Stéphane Demoustier, The Great Arch
- Hafsia Herzi, The Little Sister
Best Actress
- Leïla Bekhti, My Mother, God and Sylvie Vartan
- Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, The Ties That Bind Us
- Léa Drucker, Case 137
- Isabelle Huppert, The Richest Woman In The World
- Mélanie Thierry, Mariana’s Room
Best Actor
- Claes Bang, The Great Arch
- Bastien Bouillon, Leave One Day
- Laurent Lafitte, The Richest Woman in the World
- Pio Marmaï, The Ties That Bind Us
- Benjamin Voisin, The Stranger
Best Supporting Actress
- Jeanne Balibar, Nino
- Dominique Blanc, Leave One Day
- Marina Foïs, The Richest Woman in the World
- Ji-Min Park, The Little Sister
- Vimala Pons, The Ties That Bind Us
Best Supporting Actor
- Swann Arlaud, The Great Arch
- Xavier Dolan, The Great Arch
- Michel Fau, The Great Arch
- Pierre Lottin, The Stranger
- Raphael Personnaz, The Richest Woman in the World
Best Female Acting Hope
- Manon Clavel, Kika
- Suzanne Lindon, Colours of Time
- Nadia Melliti, The Little Sister
- Camille Rutherford, Jane Austen Wrecked My Life
- Anja Verderosa, Hearts on Fire
Best Male Acting Hope
- Idir Azougli, Météors
- Sayyid Le Alami, Block Pass
- Félix Lefebvre, Hearts on Fire
- Guillaume Marbeck, Nouvelle Vague
- Théodore Pellerin, Nino
Best documentary
- Ride Away (A Bicyclette), directed by Mathias Mlekuz, produced by Jean-Louis Livi, Marc-Etienne Schwartz
- Whispers in the Woods, directed by Vincent Munier, produced by Pierre-Emmanuel Fleurantin, Laurent Baujard, Vincent Munier
- The Fifth Shot of La Jetée, directed by Dominique Cabrera, produced by Edmée Doroszlai, Caroline glorion
- Sarkozy – Gaddafi: the Scandal of Scandals (Personne ny’ Comprend rien), directed by Yannick Kergoat, produced by Gabrielle Juhel, Valentina novati
- Put Your Soul On Your Hand and Walk, directed by Sepideh Farsi, produced by Javad Djavahery
Best First Film
- Arco, directed by Ugo Bienvenu, produced by Félix de Givry, Ugo Bienvenu, Sophie Mas, Natalie Portman
- Hearts on Fire, directed by Aurélien Peyre, produced by Bruno Levy
- Nino, directed by Pauline Loqués, produced by Sandra da Fonseca
- Block Pass, directed by Antoine Chevrollier, produced by Nicolas Blanc
- Leave One Day, directed by Amélie Bonnin, produced by Bastien Daret, Arthur Goisset Mohamed, Robin Robles, Sylvie Pialat, Benoît Quainon
Best International Film
- The Secret Agent, directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho
- Black Dog, directed by Guan Hu
- Sirāt, directed by Oliver Laxe
- One Battle After Another, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
- Sentimental Value, directed by Joachim Trier
Best Original Music
- 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
- Nicolas Becker, Andrea Ferrera, Damien Lazzerini, Arco
- Romain Cadilhac, Marc Namblard, Olivier Touche, Olivier Goinard, Whispers in the Woods
- François Maurel, Rym Debbarh-Mounir, Nathalie Vidal, Case 137
- Jean minondo, Serge Rouquairol, Christophe Vingtrinier, Nouvelle Vague
- Rémi Chanaud, Jeanne Delplanco, Fanny Martin, Niels Barletta, Leave One Day
Best Cinematography
- Elin Kirschfink, The Ties That Bind Us
- Patrick Ghiringhelli, Case 137
- Marine Atlan, The Girl in the Snow
- Manu Dacosse, The Stranger
- David Chambille, Nouvelle Vague
Best Editing
- Stan Collet, 13 Days, 13 Nights
- Christel Dewynter, The Ties That Bind Us
- Laurent Rouan, Case 137
- Catherine Schwartz, Nouvelle Vague
- Géraldine Mangenot, The Little Sister
Best Costumes
- Céline Guignard, La Condition
- Corinne Bruand, Dracula
- Jürgen Doering, The Richest Woman in the World
- Pascaline Chavanne, Nouvelle Vague
- Pierre-Yves Gayraud, Colours of Time
Best Production Design
- Jean-Philippe Moreaux, Dog 51
- Catherine Cosme, The Great Arch
- Riton Dupire-Clément, My Mother, God and Sylvie Vartan
- Katia Wyszkop, Nouvelle Vague
- Marie Cheminal, Colours of Time
Best Special Effects
- Cédric Fayolle, Dog 51
- Rodolphe Chabrier, Benoit de Longlée, The Shrinking Man
- Lise Fischer, The Great Arch
- Alain Carsoux, Nouvelle Vague
Best Animated Short Film
- Au Bain des Dames, directed by Margaux fournier, produced by Laureen Bolton, Audrey Amadja Iritz
- Car Wash, directed by Laïs Decaster, produced by Nathan Jactel, Gabrielle Voigt
- Ni Dieu ni père, directed by Paul Kermarec, produced by Stéphane Marchal, Nelson Ghrénassia
Best Live Action Short Film
- Big Boys Don’t Cry, directed by Arnaud Delmarle, produced by Ane Luthaud, Joanna Sitkwoska
- Deux Personnes Echangeant de la Salive, directed by Natalie Musteata, Alexandre Singh, produced by Valentina Merli, Violeta Kreimer
- Mort d’un Acteur, directed by Ambroise Rateau, produced by Lucas Tothe, Jessica Arfuso
- Wonderwall, directed by Róisín Burns, produced by Mathilde Delaunay
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