More honours for Elle

Three new prizes in Lumière Awards.

by Richard Mowe

Fatal attraction: Laurent Lafitte and Isabelle Huppert in Elle
Fatal attraction: Laurent Lafitte and Isabelle Huppert in Elle Photo: UniFrance

The awards roller-coaster for Elle has kept up its momentum with accolades last night (30 Jan) in the 22nd Lumière Awards, described as France’s Golden Globes and awarded by foreign journalists working in France.

Poster for the Lumières, France’s answer to the Golden Globes
Poster for the Lumières, France’s answer to the Golden Globes

The ceremony at the Madeleine Theâtre saw Paul Verhoeven’s film receive three prizes comprising Best Film; Best Actress for Isabelle Huppert and Best Director.

The stop-go animation My Life As A Courgette by Claude Barras was named best animation with a best script award for his co-writer Céline Sciamma. The veteran actor Jean-Pierre Léaud was lauded as best actor for The Death Of Louis X1V which also received a best cinematography accolade. Houda Benyamina’s Divines received two awards as best first film with a joint acting prize for leads Oulaya Amamra and Déborah Lukumuena.

During the ceremony actress Marion Cotillard and Cannes artistic chief Thierry Frémaux received special tributes.

The Lumières in full:-

  • Best Film: Elle (Paul Verhoeven)
  • Best Director: Paul Verhoeven for Elle
  • Best Actress: Isabelle Huppert for Elle
  • Best Actor: Jean-Pierre Léaud for The Death Of Louis XIV
  • Best Script: Céline Sciamma for My Life As A Courgette
  • Best Cinematography: Jonathan Ricquebourg for The Death Of Louis XIV
  • Best Male newcomer: Damien Bonnard for Rester Vertical
  • Best Female newcomer: Oulaya Amamra and Déborah Lukumuena for Divines
  • Best First Film: Divines by Houda Benyamina
  • Best Francophone Production: Hedi – Un Vent De liberté by Mohammed Ben Attia
  • Best Animation: My Life As A Courgette by Claude Barras
  • Best Documentary: A Journey Through French Cinema by Bertrand Tavernier
  • Best Music: Ibrahim Maalouf for Dans Les Forêts De Sibérie

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