The National Center for Cinema and Animated Image (CNC) unveiled on Friday July 29 the members of its commission responsible for selecting the French candidate for the Oscars, including directors Jacques Audiard and Michel Gondry, three days after the announcement of his reorganization.
The latter was endorsed by a decree published in the Official Journal on Wednesday and signed by the Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak.
It hinges on two points: the shrinking of this commission, which goes from nine to seven members, with the elimination of its three permanent members, namely the general delegate of the Cannes Film Festival (Thierry Frémaux), the president of Unifrance (Serge Toubiana) and the president of the Académie des César (Véronique Cayla).
The other novelty consists of the establishment, prior to the intervention of the commission, of an obligation, for films wishing to represent France at the Oscars, to formally submit their candidacy, which was not the case previously.
From now on, the commission is made up of two exporters (Hengameh Panahi and Grégoire Melin), two producers (Philippe Rousselet and Didar Domehri), as well as two directors, the French Jacques Audiard (Palme d’or at Cannes in 2015) and Michel Gondry ( Oscar for best screenplay in 2005 for Head full of sun). Finally, “a qualified personality“, in the person of Ariane Toscan du Plantier, completes the list.
“These seven professionals will meet twice, in the presence of the president of the CNC and the president of Unifrance, both endowed with the status of observers without a deliberative voice”, according to the press release. On September 15, they will establish a shortlist of three to five films, then, on September 22, they will audition the producers and exporters of the shortlisted films, before making the final choice.
The last French film to win the Oscar for best international film was Indochina by Régis Wargnier, in 1993. Titanium by Julia Ducournau, tricolor representative in 2022, had not been shortlisted by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.