Of Gods And Men wins top prize at Cesars

Polanski's Ghost Writer also wins gongs

by Amber Wilkinson

Of Gods And Men won best film

Xavier Beauvois' Of Gods And Men was named best film at the annual Cesar Awards. The film - which took home the top prize in the French national awards - tells the true story of Cistercian monks who were killed by fundamentalists in Nigeria. It also saw Caroline Charpentier net the prize for best cinematography and Michael Lonsdale take the gong for best supporting actor.

Political thriller The Ghost Writer - eligible for the top award despite being in a foreign language thanks to majority French funding - was also a big winner on the night, takign home the awards for best director and adapted screenplay.

Director Roman Polanski said: "I finished this film while in jail so I would like to thank all the people who helped me and supported me until the very end."

The best actress award went to bookies' outsider Sara Forestier for her role as a politician who is trying to sleep her way to the top in The Names of Love. She beat of stiff competition for the award from Potiche star Catherine Deneuve and British actress Kristin Scott Thomas's turn in Sarah's Key.

Eric Elmosnino was named best actor for his portrayal of singer Serge in biopic Gainsbourg, which also saw Joan Sfar honoured for best first film and Daniel Sobrino, Jean Goudier and Jean-Baptiste Brunhes scoop the prize for best sound.

David Fincher, meanwhile, emerged top dog in the race for best foreign film, triumphing over Inception, Invictus and Bright Star among others.

The full list of nominees and winners is below:

Best Film
Heartbreaker
Of Gods And Men
Gainsbourg (vie héroïque)
The Ghost Writer
Mammuth
The Name of The People
Tour

Best Director
Mathieu Amalric, Tour
Olivier Assayas, Carlos
Xavier Beauvois, Of Gods And Men
Bertrand Blier, The Clink Of Ice
Roman Polanski, The Ghost Writer

Best Actor
Gérard Depardieu, Mammuth
Romain Duris, Heartbreaker
Eric Elmosnino, Gainsbourg (vie héroïque) (vie héroïque)
Jacques Gamblin, The Name Of The People
Lambert Wilson, Of Gods And Men

Best Actress
Isabelle Carré, Les Emotifs anonymes
Catherine Deneuve, Potiche
Sara Forestier, The Name Of The People
Charlotte Gainsbourg, The Tree
Kristin Scott Thomas, Sarah's Key


Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Niels Arestrup, The Man Who Wanted To Live His Life
François Damiens, Heartbreaker
Gilles Lellouche, The Little Handkerchiefs
Michael Lonsdale, Of Gods And Men
Olivier Rabourdin, Of Gods And Men

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Anne Alvaro, The Clink Of Ice
Valérie Bonneton, The Little Handkerchiefs
Laetitia Casta, Gainsbourg (vie héroïque)
Julie Ferrier, Heartbreaker
Karin Viard, Potiche

Most Promising Young Actor
Arthur Dupont, Bus Palladium
Grégoire Leprince-Rianguet, The Princess Of Montpensier
Pio Marmai, Of Love And Fresh Water
Raphaël Personnaz, The Princess Of Montpensier
Édgar Ramírez, Carlos

Most Promising Young Actress
Leïla Bekhti, All That Glitters
Anaïs Demoustier, Of Love And Fresh Water
Audrey Lamy, All That Glitters
Léa Seydoux, Dear Prudence
Yahima Torres, Black Venus

Best Original Screenplay
Tour, Mathieu Amalric, Philippe Di Folco, Marcelo Novais Teles and Raphaëlle Valbrune
The Clink Of Ice, Bertrand Blier
Of Gods And Men, Etienne Comar and Xavier Beauvois
Mammuth, Benoit Delepine and Gustave Kervern
The Name Of The people, Baya Kasmi and Michel Leclerc

Adapted Screenplay
The Tree, Julie Bertuccelli
The Princess Of Montpensier, Jean Cosmos, François-Olivier Rousseau and Bertrand Tavernier
The Ghost Writer, Robert Harris and Roman Polanski
The man who wanted to live his life, Eric Lartey and Lawrence Bartillat
Potiche, François Ozon

Best First Film
Heartbreaker
Gainsbourg (vie héroïque)
Simon Werner has disappeared ...
Turk's head
All that glitters

Best Original Score
The Tree, Grégoire Hetzel
Bus Palladium, Yarol Poupaud
The Ghost Writer, Alexandre Desplat
Freedom, Delphine Mantoulet and Tony Gatlif
Océans, Bruno Coulais
The Princess Of Montpensier, Philippe Sarde

Best Cinematography
Of Gods And Men, Caroline Champetier
Gainsbourg (vie héroïque), Guillaume Schiffman
The Ghost Writer, Pawel Edelman
The Princess Of Montpensier, Bruno De Keyzer
Tour, Christopher Beaucarne

Best Art Direction
The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec, Hugh Tissandier
Of Gods And Men, Michel Barthelemy
Gainsbourg (vie héroïque), Christian Marti
The Ghost Writer, Albrecht Konrad
The Princess Of Montpensier, Guy-Claude François

Best Costume Design
The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec, Olivier Beriot
Of Gods And Men, Marielle Robaut
Potiche, Pascaline Chavanne
The Princess Of Montpensier, Caroline Vivaise
Tour, Alexia Crisp-Jones

Best Sound
Of Gods And Men, Jean-Jacques Ferrand, Vincent Guillon and Eric Bonnard
Gainsbourg (vie héroïque) (vie héroïque), Daniel Sobrino, John Goudier and Cyril Holtz
The Ghost Writer, Jean-Marie Blondel, Thomas Desjonquières and Dean Humphreys
Océans, Philippe Barbeau, Jerome Wiciak and Florent Lavallee
Tour, Olivier Mauvezin, Severin Favriau and Stephane Thiebaut

Best Editing
Of Gods And Men, Marie-Julie Maille
Carlos, Luc Barnier
Gainsbourg (vie héroïque), Maryline Monthieux
The Ghost Writer, Hervé De Luze Tour, Annette Dutertre

Best Animated Film
Arthur 3: The War Of The Two Worlds
The Man In The Blue Gordini
The Illusionist
Logorama
Un Vie De Chat

Best Short
Logorama
Monsieur L'Abbe
Petit Tailleur
Un transport en commun
Une pute et un poussin

Best Documentary Film
Benda Bilili!
Cleveland cons Wall Street
Into Our Own Hands
Oceans
L'amour Fou

Best Foreign Film
Heartbeats
Bright Star
In His eyes
Illegal
Inception
Invictus
The Social Network

Honorary César
Quentin Tarantino

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