Verhoeven’s ELLE, Ozon’s FRANTZ Lead 42nd César Awards Nominations
[divider style=”solid” top=”20″ bottom=”20″]
Newly-minted Oscar nominee Isabelle Huppert and her film Elle led the nominations for the 42nd César Awards, the French Academy Awards. The film also earned mentions in Best Film, Director (Paul Verhoeven), Supporting Actor (Laurent Lafitte) and Supporting Actress (Anne Consigny) for a total of 11. Earlier this month the film won the Golden Globe for Foreign Language Film (it didn’t make the Oscar cut) and Huppert picked up a win for Best Actress – Drama. François Ozon’s Frantz also earned 11 nominations including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor (Pierre Niney). Xavier Dolan’s Cannes-winning It’s Only the End of the World received nominations for Dolan in Director and for Marion Cotillard in Best Actress.
The Red Turtle and My Life as a Zucchini, both Oscar-nominated yesterday, earned nominations for Best Animated Feature. Oscar-nominee Manchester by the Sea was the only American film nominated in the Foreign Film category. The film was released in December, other Oscar nominees such as La La Land and Moonlight only opened this week and mid-February, respectively. Shocking snubs came in the form of no Best Actress mention for Isabelle Adjani in Carol Matthieu (Adjani and Huppert have a bitter rivalry so this snub probably stings) and a total shutout of Olivier Assayas’s Personal Shopper starring César winner Kristen Stewart.
France’s Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma were mired in controversy earlier when it was announced that Roman Polanski would be the honorary President of the ceremonies. Public outcry forced Polanski to pull out and Académie President Alain Terzian gave this statement: “Yesterday was a bit complicated.” [Polanski is] “one of the biggest artists on the planet. He made his decision… I respect all the comments made… We look at artists and their work.”
The César Awards will be held on February 24th. Here is the full list of nominations below:
BEST FILM
Divines, produced by Marc-Benoit Créancier
Elle, produced by Saïd Ben Saïd, Michel Merkt
Frantz, produced by Eric Altmayer, Nicolas Altmayer
Les Innocentes, produced by Eric Altmayer, Nicolas Altmayer
Ma Loute, produced by Jean Bréhat, Rachid Bouchareb, Muriel Merlin
Mal De Pierres, produced by Alain Attal
Victoria, produced by Emmanuel Chaumet
BEST DIRECTOR
Bruno Dumont, Ma Loute
Paul Verhoeven, Elle
Houda Benyamina, Divines
François Ozon, Frantz
Anne Fontaine, Les Innocentes
Xavier Dolan, It’s Only The End Of The World
Nicole Garcia, Mal De Pierres
BEST ACTOR
François Cluzet, Médecin De Campagne
Gaspard Ulliel, It’s Only The End Of The World
Omar Sy, Chocolat
Pierre Deladonchamps, Le Fils De Jean
Nicolas Duvauchelle, Je Ne Suis Pas Un Salaud
Fabrice Luchini, Ma Loute
Pierre Niney, Frantz
BEST ACTRESS
Judith Chemla, Une Vie
Marion Cotillard, Mal De Pierres
Marina Foïs, Irréprochable
Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Sidse Babett Knudsen, La Fille De Brest
Soko, The Dancer
Virginie Efira, Victoria
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Gabriel Arcand, Le Fils De Jean
Vincent Cassel, It’s Only The End Of The World
Vincent Lacoste, Victoria
Laurent Lafitte, Elle
Melvil Poupaud, Victoria
James Thierrée, Chocolat
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Nathalie Baye, It’s Only The End Of The World
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Ma Loute
Anne Consigny, Elle
Deborah Lukumuena, Divines
Mélanie Thierry, The Dancer
NEWCOMER, MALE
Jonas Bloquet, Elle
Damien Bonnard, Rester Vertical
Corentin Fila, Quand On A 17 Ans
Kacey Mottet Klein, Quand On A 17 Ans
Niels Schneider, Diamant Noir
NEWCOMER, FEMALE
Oulaya Amamra, Divines
Paula Beer, Frantz
Lily-Rose Depp, The Dancer
Noémie Merland, Le Ciel Attendra
Raph, Ma Loute
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Romain Compingt, Houda Benyamina, Malik Rumeau, Divines
Solveig Anspach, Jean-Luc Gaget, L’Effet Aquatique
Sabrina B Karine, Alice Vial, Pascal Bonitzer, Anne Fontaine, Les Innocentes
Bruno Dumont, Ma Loute
Justine Triet, Victoria
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
David Birke, Elle
Séverine Bosschem, Emmanuelle Bercot, La Fille De Brest
François Ozon, Frantz
Céline Sciamma, Ma Vie De Courgette
Nicole Garcia, Jacques Fieschi, Mal De Pierres
Katel Quilliévéré, Gilles Taurand, Réparer Les Vivants
BEST FOREIGN FILM
Aquarius, dir: Kleber Mendona Filho
Baccalauréat, dir: Cristian Mungiu
La Fille Inconnue, dirs: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
It’s Only The End Of The World, dir: Xavier Dolan
Manchester By The Sea, dir: Kenneth Lonergan
I, Daniel Blake, dir: Ken Loach
Toni Erdmann, dir: Maren Ade
BEST DEBUT FEATURE
Cigarettes Et Chocolat Chaud, dir: Sophie Reine
The Dancer, dir: Stéphanie Di Giusto
Diamant Noir, dir: Arthur Harari
Divines, dir: Houda Benyamina
Rosalie Blum, dir: Julien Rappeneau
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
La Jeune Fille Sans Mains, dir: Sébastien Laudenbach
Ma Vie De Courgette, dir: Claude Barras
The Red Turtle, dir: Michael Dudok De Wit
BEST SCORE
Gabriel Yared, Chocolat
Ibrahim Maalouf, Dans Les Forêts De Sibérie
Anne Dudley, Elle
Philippe Rombi, Frantz
Sophie Hunger, Ma Vie De Courgette
BEST EDITING
Loic Lallemand, Vincent Tricon, Divines
Job Ter Burg, Elle
Laure Gardette, Frantz
Xavier Dolan, It’s Only The End Of The World
Simon Jacquet, Mal De Pierres
BEST COSTUMES
Anaïs Romand, The Dancer
Pascaline Chavanne, Frantz
Catherine Leterrier, Mal De Pierres
Alexandra Charles, Ma Loute
Madeline Fontaine, Une Vie
BEST SET DESIGN
Jérémie D Lignol, Chocolat
Carlos Conti, The Dancer
Michel Barthélémy, Frantz
Riton Dupire-Clément, Ma Loute
Katia Wyszkop, Planetarium
BEST SOUND
Brigitte Taillandier, Vincent Guillon, Stéphane Thiébaut, Chocolat
Jean-Paul Mugel, Alexis PLace, Cyril Holtz, Damien Lazzerini, Elle
Martin Boissau, Benoït Gargonne, Jean-Paul Hurier, Frantz
Jean-Pierre DUret, Sylvain Malabrant, Jean-Pierre Laforce, Mal De Pierres
Marc Engels, Fred Demolder, Sylvain Réty, Jean-Paul Hurier, L’Odyssée
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Stéphane Fontaine, Elle
Pascal Marti, Frantz
Caroline Champetier, Les Innocentes
Guillaume Deffontaines, Ma Loute
Christophe Beaucarne, Mal De Pierres
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Dernières Nouvelles Du Cosmos, dir: Julie Bertuccelli
Fire At Sea, dir: Gianfranco Rosi
Merci Patron!, dir: François Ruffin
Swagger, dir: Olivier Babinet
Voyage A Travers Le Cinéma Français, dir: Bertrand Tavernier
BEST SHORT FILM
Après Suzanne, dir: Félix Moati
Au Bruit Des Clochettes, dir: Chabname Zariab
Chasse Royale, dirs: Lise Akoka, Romane Guret
Maman(s), dir: Maïmouna Duocouré
Vers La Tendresse, dir: Alice Diop
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Café Froid, dirs: François Leroy, Stéphanie Lansaque
Celui Qui A Deux Ames, dir: Fabrice Luang-Vija
Journal Animé, dir: Donato Sansone
Peripheria, dir: David Coquard-Dassault
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
- 2024 Dublin Film Critics Circle (DFCC) Winners: ‘The Zone of Interest,’ ‘Conclave,’ ‘Kneecap’ - December 19, 2024
- 2025 Oscar Predictions: ADAPTED SCREENPLAY and ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY (December) - December 19, 2024
- 2024 London Critics’ Circle Nominations: ‘The Brutalist’ and ‘Anora’ Lead with Seven - December 19, 2024
2024 Dublin Film Critics Circle (DFCC) Winners: ‘The Zone of Interest,’ ‘Conclave,’ ‘Kneecap’ 
2025 Oscar Predictions: ADAPTED SCREENPLAY and ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY (December) 
2024 London Critics’ Circle Nominations: ‘The Brutalist’ and ‘Anora’ Lead with Seven 
Interview: How Adrien Brody Built a Monument to His Mother with ‘The Brutalist’