2016 César Nominations Highlight Diversity with Female and Ethnic Nominees

The 2016 Césars, often referred to as the French Oscars, revealed their nominations today and features three female directors nominated for Best Director for the first time; Mustang’s Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Standing Tall’s Emmanuelle Bercot and Mon Roi’s Maïwenn.

Marguerite from Xavier Giannoli and Arnaud Desplechin’s My Golden Days lead the pack with 11 nominations apiece, followed by Dheepan and Mustang with 9, Mon Roi and Standing Tall with 8 each.

French legends Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert receive their 14th and 15th acting nominations, respectively.

The nominee list, coming so soon after the Oscars’ list being so devoid of diversity, stands out for its record number of female and ethnic nominees. It’s an acknowledged improvement by France itself, which has not always seen this level of diversity in its nominees.

Full list of nominees for the 41st César Awards:

BEST FILM
Dheepan, dir: Jacques Audiard
Fatima, dir: Philippe Faucon
La Loi Du Marché, dir: Stéphane Brizé
Marguerite, dir: Xavier Giannoli
Mon Roi, dir: Maiwenn
Mustang, dir: Deniz Gamze Erguven
La Tête Haute (aka Standing Tall), dir: Emmanuelle Bercot
Trois Souvenirs De Ma Jeunesse (aka My Golden Days), dir: Arnaud Desplechin

BEST FIRST FILM
L’Affaire SK1, dir: Frédéric Tellier
Les Cowboys; dir: Thomas Bidegain
Mustang, dir: Deniz Gamze Erguven
Ni Le Ciel Ni La Terre, Clément Cogitore
Nous Trois Ou Rien, dir: Kheiron

BEST DIRECTOR
Jacques Audiard, Dheepan
Stéphane Brizé, La Loi Du Marché
Xavier Giannoli, Marguerite
Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Mustang
Emmanuelle Bercot, La Tête Haute
Arnaud Desplechin, My Golden Days
Maïwenn, Moi Roi

BEST ACTOR
Jean-Pierre Bacri, La Vie Très Privée De Monsieur Sim
Vincent Cassell, Mon Roi
François Damiens, Les Cowboys
Gérard Depardieu, Valley Of Love
Antonythasan Jesuthasan, Dheepan
Vincent Lindon, La Loi Du Marché
Fabrice Luchini, L’Hermine

BEST ACTRESS
Loubna Abidar, Much Loved
Emmanuelle Bercot, Mon Roi
Cécile de France, La Belle Saison
Catherine Deneuve, La Tête Haute
Catherine Frot, Marguerite
Isabelle Huppert, Valley Of Love
Soria Zeroual, Fatima

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Michel Fau, Marguerite
Louis Garrel, Mon Roi
Benoit Magimel, La Tête Haute
André Marcon, Marguerite
Vincent Rottiers, Dheepan

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Sara Forestier, La Tête Haute
Agnès Jaoui, Comme Un Avion
Sidse Babett Knudsen, L’Hermine
Noémie Lvovsky, La Belle Saison
Karin Viard, 21 Nuits Avec Pattie

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Adama; dir: Simon Rouby
Le Petit Prince, dir: Mark Osborne
Avril Et Le Monde Truqué, dirs: Christian Desmares, Franck Ekinci

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Birdman, dir: Alejandro G Inarritu
Son Of Saul, dir: Laszlo Nemes
Je Suis Mort Mais J’ai Des Amis, dirs: Guillaume Malandrin, Stéphane Malandrin
Mia Madre, dir: Nanni Moretti
Taxi Tehran, dir: Jafar Panahi
The Brand New Testament, dir: Jaco van Dormael
Youth, dir: Paolo Sorrentino

BEST NEWCOMER (FEMALE)
Lou Leroy-Collinet, My Golden Days
Diane Rouxel, Standing Tall
Zita Hanrot, Fatima
Sara Giraudeau, Les Bêtises
Camille Cottin, Connasse, Princesse Des Coeurs

BEST NEWCOMER (MALE)
Swann Arlaud, Les Anarchistes
Quentin Dolmaire, My Golden Days
Félix Moati, A trois On Y Va
Finnegan Oldfield, Les Cowboys
Rod Paradot, Standing Tall

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Eponine Momenceau, Dheepan
Glynn Speeckaert, Marguerite
David Chizallet, Mustang
Irina Lubtchansky, My Golden Days
Christophe Offenstein, Valley Of Love

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
David Oelhoffen, Frédéric Tellier, L’Affaire SKI
Samuel Benchetrit, Asphalte
Vincent Garenq, Stéphan Cabel, L’Enquete
Philippe Faucon, Fatima
Héléne Zimmer, Benoît Jacquot, Journal D’Une Femme De Chambre

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Noé Debré, Thomas Bidegain, Jacques Audiard, Dheepan
Xavier Giannoli, Marguerite
Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Alice Winocour, Mustang
Emmanuelle Bercot, Marcia Roman, Standing Tall
Arnaud Desplechin, Julie Peyr, My Golden Days

BEST EDITING
Juliette Welfing, Dheepan
Cyril Nakache, Marguerite
Simon Jacquet, Mon Roi
Mathilde Van De Moortel, Mustang
Laurence Briau, My Golden Days

BEST SOUND
Daniel Sobrino, Valérie Deloof, Cyril Holtz, Dheepan
François Musy, Gabriel Hafner, Marguerite
Nicolas Provost, Agnès Ravez, Emanuel Croset, Mon Roi
Ibrahim Gök, Damien Guillaume, Olivier Goinard, Mustang
Nicolas Cantin, Sylvain Malbrant, Stéphane Thiébaut, My Golden Days

BEST SHORT FILM
La Contre Allée, dir: Cécile Ducrocq
Le Dernier Des Céfrans, dir: Pierre-Emmanuel Urcun
Essaie De Mourir Jeune, dir: Morgon Simon
Guy Moquet, dir: Demis Herenger
Mon Héros, dir: Sylvain Desclous

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC
Raphaël, Les Cowboys
Ennio Morricone, En Mail, Fais Ce Qu’Il Te Plaît
Stephen Warbeck, Mon Roi
Warren Ellis, Mustang
Grégoire Hetzel, My Golden Days

BEST COSTUMES
Anaïs Romand, Journal D’Une Femme De Chambre
Pierre-Jean Larroque, Marguerite
Selin Sözen, Mustang
Catherine Leterrier, L’Odeur De La Mandarine
Nathalie Raoul, My Golden Days

BEST SET DECORATION
Michel Barthélémy, Dheepan
Katia Wyszkop, Journal D’Une Femme De Chambre
Martin Kurel, Marguerite
Jean Rabasse, L’Odeur De La Mandarine
Toma Baqueni, My Golden Days

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
La Nuit Américaine D’Angélique, dirs: Pierre-Emmanuel Lyet, Joris Clerté
Le Repas Dominical, dir: Céline Devaux
Sous Tes Doigts, dir: Marie-Christine Courtès
Tigre A La Queue Leu Leu, dir: Benoît Chieux

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Le Bouton De Nacre, dir: Patrico Guzman
Cavanna, dirs: Denis and Nina Robert
Tomorrow, dirs: Cyril Dion, Mélanie Laurent
The Missing Picture, dir: Rithy Panh
Une Jeunesse Allemande, dir: Jean-Gabriel Periot

The 41st César Awards ceremony, presented by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma, is scheduled to take place on 26 February 2016, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. The awards will honour the best French films of 2015. Comedian and actress Florence Foresti will host the ceremony for the first time.