For a few moments, French cinema will have forgotten the pandemic with the announcement on Wednesday January 26 of the César nominations, a year after the coronation ofGoodbye Cons by Albert Dupontel. Three films stand out: lost illusions by Xavier Giannoli with 15 nominations, Annette(11 nominations), Aline (10 nominations), ahead North ferry (7), The divide (6) and Black Box and The Olympiads (5 each).
At the top of the nominations, lost illusions by Xavier Giannoli, who revisits Balzac’s great novel, collects prestigious nominations ranging from best film to best director, including best adaptation, best male hope (Benjamin Voisin, already nominated for this title for Summer 85 by François Ozon last year), the best female hope (Salomé Dewaels), four for the titles of best actor in a supporting role (Xavier Dolan, Vincent Lacoste) and best actress in a supporting role (Jeanne Balibar, Cécile de France) …
Annette, opera-rock drama by Leos Carax, is also nominated for best film, as well as for best director, best actor (for the American Adam Driver), or even best screenplay.
With the very successful Aline, her film inspired by the life of Céline Dion, Valérie Lemercier finds herself in the running in several categories: best film, best director, best actress, best screenplay (with Brigitte Buc).
In the “Best Actress” category, Valérie Lemercier cohabits, among others, with Laure Calamy (A woman of the world) crowned last year, leïla Bekhti or Valéria Bruni Tedeschi. On the “Best Actor” side, Adam Driver is in the running with Benoît Magimel (In his lifetime).
At the end of a year when French films were acclaimed at film festivals, 171 films were in the running, released between the reopening of French cinemas, at the end of May 2021, and December 31.
The nominations are the last straight line before the 47th official ceremony, on February 25, which has the daunting task of making people forget the shipwrecks of the previous ones. In 2020, at the height of an internal crisis, Roman Polanski, accused of rape, was crowned best director for his film I accuse, causing the departure of the ceremony of the actress Adèle Haenel and causing a shock wave in the profession. The image of the angry actress has become one of the symbols of the fight against sexual violence and for equality in the cinema world. Despite an in-depth renewal, the 2021 ceremony, marked by a pro-intermittent happening of the show of actress Corinne Masiero naked on stage, flopped the audience (1.6 million spectators). And aroused a flood of criticism deploring the navel-gazing of the world of cinema in the midst of a pandemic.
This year, the organizers have bet on sure values with Antoine de Caunes, a great regular at the exercise, as master of ceremonies and screenwriter and director Danièle Thompson as president. But they will have a lot to do as the lack of love for major ceremonies seems to be growing, like the Golden Globes, ousted from American TV. A fate which escape – for the moment – the Césars: Canal +, which from this year gives way to the Cannes Film Festival to Brut and France Télévisions, has renewed its partnership with the Academy until 2025.
Cesar for Best Actress
. Leïla Bekhti in Les intranquilles
. Valeria Bruni Tedeschi in The fracture
. Laure Calamy in A Woman of the World
. Virginie Efira in Benedetta
. Vicky Crips in Hold Me Strong
. Valérie Lemercier in Aline
. Léa Seydoux in France
Cesar for best actor
. Damien Bonnard in Les intranquilles
. Adam Driver in Annette
. Gilles Lellouche in Bac Nord
. Vincent Macaigne in Night Doctor
. Benoît Magimel in During his lifetime
. Pio Marmaï in The fracture
. Pierre Niney in Black Box
César Award for Best Female Hope
. Noé Abita in Slalom
. Salomé Dewaels in Lost Illusions
. Agathe Rousselle in Titanium
. Anamaria Vartolomei in The Event
. Lucie Zhang in The Olympiads
César for the best male hope
. Sandor Funtek in Supremes
. Samy Outalbali in A story of love and desire
. Timothée Robart in The Magnetics
. Makita Samba in The Olympiads
. Benjamin Voisin in Lost Illusions
Cesar for Best Film
. Aline by Valerie Lemercier
. Annette by Leos Carax
. Bac Nord by Cédric Jimenez
. Audrey Diwan’s event
. The fracture of Catherine Corsini
. Lost Illusions by Xavier Gianoli
. Onoda by Arthur Harari