The frontrunners for this year’s 49th Cesar Awards are Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall” and Thomas Cailley’s supernatural drama “The Animal Kingdom” which are nominated for 11 and 12 prizes, respectively. The ceremony is unfolding at the Olympia Theater in Paris on Friday evening).
The first awards of the evening went to Adele Exarchopoulos (“Blue is the Warmest Color”) for her role in “All Your Faces,” while Valérie Donzelli, and Audrey Diwan won best adapted screenplay with“Just The Two Of Us.” “Junkyard Dog,” meanwhile, won best first film, beating strong contenders such as “Bernadette” starring Catherine Deneuve as the former first lady.
One of the highlights of the evening was the honorary tribute to “Oppenheimer” directorChristopher Nolan who was introduced on stage by Marion Cotillard. In his acceptance speech, Nolan paid homage to France’s love of cinema and auteurs. He said when he made his second film, “Memento,” “no one in the world wanted to show it, and then Philippe Hellmann from UGC decided to show it at the Grand Rex Theater” in Paris. He said the success that the film had there “changed (his) life.” Even since, Nolan said he has felt a bond with “French audiences, French distributors and this love of cinema that you have has always struck me.” Nolan has indeed been holding the world premieres of many of his movies at the Grand Rex Theater, including “Oppenheimer.” While on stage, he reminisced about his experience showing “Interstellar” at the Grand Rex, where a 16mmprojector had been exceptionally installed for the screening of the film. “When I tell this story in Hollywood (…), no one believes me,” he said.
Triet’s movie, which just garnered an impressive five Oscar nominations, stars Sandra Hüller as a novelist who is put on trial following the mysterious death of her husband at their remote chalet. The movie is nominated for five Oscars, and already won a pair of Golden Globes. It’s produced by Marie-Ange Lucianiat Les Films de Pierre and David Thion at Les Films Pelleas.
“The Animal Kingdom,” world premiered at Cannes where it won a prize in the Un Certain Regard selection. It’s an ambitious film that marks a departure from France’s cinema tradition of social realism. It’s both a creature-filled dystopia and a father-and-son drama (played by Romain Duris and Paul Kircher, both nominated for Cesar Awards), weaving some contemporary concerns over the future of mankind. It’s produced by Pierre Guyard at Nord Ouest Films and co-produced by Artemis.
The Cesar Awards, which became the center stage of France’s #MeToo movement in 2020 – after actor Adele Haenel walked out of the ceremony upon hearing Roman Polanski win best director — will open its stage to Judith Godreche, who recently accused Benoit Jacquot and Jacques Doillon of sexual assault. Both Jacquot and Doillon have denied the accusations. Doillon has also announced through his lawyer that he was going to sue Godrèche for defamation.
Godreche, who was greeted on stage with a standing ovation, said she felt “like a revenant from the America who comes knocking at an armored door.”
“Since a bit of time, the voices are freeing themselves (…) the power almost seems to shift. Could it be possible for us to look at truth up front, take our responsibilities, be the actors and the actresses of a world that questions itself.”
“I’ve been talking and talking, but I don’t hear you. Or merely. (…) I know it’s scary to lose subsidies, to lose roles, to lose jobs. I’m scared, too.”
Below is the list of Cesar Awards nominations and winners (in bold):
Best Film
“Anatomy of a Fall,” Justine Triet
“Junkyard Dog,” Jean-Baptiste Durand
“All Your Faces,” Jeanne Herry
“The Goldman Case,” Cédric Kahn
“The Animal Kingdom,” Thomas Cailley
Best Director
Justine Triet, “Anatomy of a Fall”
Catherine Breillat, “Last Summer”
Jeanne Herry, “All Your Faces”
Cédric Kahn, “The Goldman Case”
Thomas Cailley, “The Animal Kingdom”
Best Actress
Marion Cotillard, “Little Blue Girl”
Léa Drucker, “Last Summer”
Virginie Efira, “Just The Two Of Us”
Hafsia Herzi, “The Rapture”
Sandra Hüller, “Anatomy of a Fall”
Best Actor
Romain Duris,“The Animal Kingdom”
Benjamin Lavernhe, “L’Abbé Pierre – A Century of Devotion”
Melvil Poupaud, “Just The Two Of Us”
Raphaël Quenard, “Yannik”
Arieh Worthalter,“The Goldman Case”
Best Supporting Actor
Leila Bekhti,“All Your Faces”
Galatea Bellugi,“Junkyard Dog”
Élodie Bouchez,“All Your Faces”
Adèle Exarchopoulos,“All Your Faces”
Miou Miou, “All Your Faces”
Best Supporting Actor
Swann Arlaud,“Anatomy Of A Fall”
Anthony Bajon,Junkyard Dog
Arthur Harari,“The Goldman Case”
Pio Marmaï,“Yannick”
Antoine Reinartz,“Anatomy of a Fall”
Female Revelation
Celeste Brunnquell,“No Love Lost”
Kim Higelin,“Consent”
Suzanne Jouannet,“The Royal Way”
Rebecca Marder,“Grand Expectations”
Ella Rumpf,“Marguerite’s Theorem”
Male Revelation
Julien Frison,“Marguerite’s Theorem”
Paul Kircher,“The Animal Kingdom”
Samuel Kircher, “Last Summer”
Milo Machado Graner,“Anatomy of a Fall”
Raphaël Quenard,“Junkyard Dog”
Best Original Screenplay
Justine Triet, Arthur Harari, “Anatomy of a Fall”
Jean-Baptiste Durand,“Junkyard Dog”
Jeanne Herry,“All Your Faces”
Nathalie Hertzberg, Cédric Khan,“The Goldman Case”
Thomas Cailley, Pauline Munier, “The Animal Kingdom”
Best Adapted Screenplay
Valérie Donzelli, Audrey Diwan,“Just The Two Of Us”
Vanessa Filho,“Consent”
Catherine Breillat,“Last Summer”
Best Animated Feature
“No Dogs Or Italians Allowed,”Alain Unghetto
“Chicken For Linda!,” Chiara Malta, Sébastien Laudenbach
“Mars Express,” Jérémie Périn
Best documentary
“Atlantic Bar,” Fanny Molins
“Four Daughters,” Kaouther Ben Hania
“Little Girl Blue,” Mona Achache
“Our Body,” Claire Simon
“On The Adamant,” Nicolas Philibert
Best First Film
“Bernadette,” Léa Domenach
“Junkyard Dog,” Jean-Baptiste Durand
“The Rapture,” Iris Kaltenbäck
“Vermin,” Sebastien Vanicek
“Vincent Must Die,” Stéphan Castang
Best Foreign Film
“Kidnapped,” Marco Bellocchio
“Fallen Leaves,” Aki Kaurismäki
“Oppenheimer,” Christopher Nolan
“Perfect Days,”Wim Wender
“The Nature Of Love,” Monia Chokri
Best Sound
Julien Sicart, Fanny Martin, Jeanne Delplancq, Olivier Goinard,“Anatomy of a Fall”
Rémi Daru, Guadalupe Cassius, Loïc Prian, Marc Doisne,“All Your Faces”
Erwann Kerzanet, Sylvain Malbrant, Olivier Guillaume,“The Goldman Case”
Fabrice Osinski, Raphaël Sohier, Matthieu Fichet, Niels Barletta,“The Animal Kingdom”
David Rit, Gwennolé Le Borgne, Olivier Touche, Cyril Holtz, Niels Barletta,“The Three Musketeers (Parts 1 & 2)”
Cinematography
Simon Beaufils, “Anatomy of a Fall”
Jonathan Ricquebourg,“The Taste of Things”
Patrick Ghiringhelli,“The Goldman Case”
David Cailley, “The Animal Kingdom”
Nicolas Bolduc,“The Three Musketeers (Parts 1 & 2)”
Best Editing
Laurent Sénéchal,Anatomy Of Fall
Francis Vesin,All Your Face
Valérie Loiseleux,Little Girl Blue
Yann Debet,The Goldman Case
Lilian Corbeille,The Animal Kingdom
Best Costumes
Jürgen Doering,Jeanne du Barry
Pascaline Chavanne,The Crime Is Mine
Tran Nu Yên Khé,The Taste Of Things
Ariane Daurat,The Animal Kingdom
Thierry Delettre,The Three Musketeers (Parts 1 & 2)
Best Production Design
Emmanuelle Duplay,Anatomy of a Fall
Angelo Zamparutti,Jeanne du Barry
Toma Baquéni,The Taste Of Things
Julia Lemaire,The Animal Kingdom
Stéphane Taillasson,The Three Musketeers (Parts 1 & 2)
Best Visual Effects
Thomas Duval,Acid
Lise Fischer, Cédric Fayolle,The Mountain
Cyrille Bonjean, Bruno Sommier, Jean-Louis Autret,The Animal Kingdom
Oliver Cauwet,The Three Musketeers (Parts 1 & 2)
Léo Ewald,Vermin
