Jacques Audiard’s film “Emilia Pérez” chosen by the CNC to represent France at the Oscars

The movie Emilia Perez Jacques Audiard’s film chosen by the CNC to represent France at the Oscars, the institution announced on Wednesday, September 18. The ceremony will take place in March 2025. RThere is no telling whether the American Academy will include it in its latest list of nominations, but with the best actress award at Cannes for its four actresses, Jacques Audiard’s transgender musical can begin its career in the United States.

The choice was difficult for the CNC jury, renewed after last year’s flop when, for obscure reasons, The passion of Dodin Bouffant had been preferred to the Palme d’Or Anatomy of a fall. The Count of Monte Cristo and its eight million admissions in France would have made a good, unifying candidate, but Jacques Audiard’s audacity paid off.

Now it remains to convince the corporations of the Academy of Oscars. With Netflix as distributor in the United States, a very American cast – Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldana – Emilia Perez has no shortage of assets. Americans love musicals and the theme of gender reassignment, played by Spanish trans actress Karla Sofia Gascon, has something to seduce a milieu that wants to stick to the trends of the time. Whether it’s opportunism or conviction, that’s another matter.

The film, which has exceeded 800,000 admissions in France, could also be nominated in categories such as best musical film or best actress. The road is long.