Polanski leads French César nominations

Auteuil, Ardant, Dujardin and Hanael vie for acting honours

by Richard Mowe

Hold the front page … Roman Polanski scoops no fewer than 12 nominations in the French César awards race for An Officer And A Spy / J’accuse
Hold the front page … Roman Polanski scoops no fewer than 12 nominations in the French César awards race for An Officer And A Spy / J’accuse Photo: UniFrance

The awards season rush continues today with the announcement by France’s Académie des César (the equivalent of Hollywood’s Academy of Motion Picture Sciences) of nominations for the 45th edition, with the winners to be revealed on 28 February.

Best acting nod for Les Misérables: Daniel Bonnard
Best acting nod for Les Misérables: Daniel Bonnard Photo: UniFrance

At a media gathering at the celebrated Parisian brasserie Fouquet’s on the Champs Elysées, the president of the Académie, Alain Terzian, divulged that Roman Polanski’s An Officer And A Spy/J’accuse leads the field with 12 nominations, including those for Best Director and Best Film.

Not far behind with 11 nominations was Ladj Ly’s Les Misérables, also recognised in the Best Director and Best Film categories.

Les Misérables was level pegging with Nicolas Bedos’s La Belle Époque (also 11 nominations), which has a Best Actor nod for Daniel Auteuil and a Best Supporting Actress selection for Fanny Ardant.

Also prominently in the mix is Céline Sciamma’s sumptuous sizzler Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, which scooped ten nominations including ones for Best Film and Best Director.

The nominations in the main reflect the choices revealed in the Lumière Awards earlier in the week (often compared to the Golden Globes).

The high profile choice of Polanski, for his film about the infamous Dreyfus case, has stimulated some controversy already - last year he was accused of rape by French actress Valentine Monnier (in addition to previous historical allegations). And Les Misérables director Ly was reportedly involved in a kidnapping case in 2009 for which he received a custodial sentence.

Those nominations in full:-

Best Film

Best Director

Best Actor

  • Daniel Auteuil, La Belle Époque
  • Damien Bonnard, Les Misérables
  • Vincent Cassel, The Specials/Hors Normes
  • Jean Dujardin, An Officer And A Spy/J'accuse
  • Reda Kateb, The Specials/Hors Normes
  • Melvil Poupaud, By The Grace Of God/Grâce À Dieu
  • Roschdy Zem, Oh Mercy!/Roubaix, Une Lumière

Best Actress

Best female newcomer

  • Céleste Brunnquell, Les Eblouis
  • Lyna Khoudri, Papicha
  • Luàna Bajrami, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire/Portrait De La Jeune Fille En Feu
  • Nina Meurisse, Camille
  • Mama Sané, Atlantics/Atlantique

Best male newcomer

  • Anthony Bajon, Au Nom De La Terre
  • Benjamin Lesieur, The Specials/Hors Normes
  • Alexis Manenti, Les Misérables
  • Liam Pierron, La Vie Scolaire
  • Djebril Zonga, Les Misérables

Best Supporting Actress

  • Fanny Ardant, La Belle Époque
  • Josiane Balasko, By The Grace Of God/Grâce À Dieu
  • Laure Calamy, Seules Les Bêtes
  • Sara Forestier, Oh Mercy!/Roubaix, Une Lumière
  • Hélène Vincent, The Specials/Hors Normes

Best Supporting Actor

  • Swann Arlaud, By The Grace Of God/Grâce À Dieu
  • Grégory Gadebois, An Officer And A Spy/J'accuse
  • Louis Garrel, An Officer And A Spy/J’accuse
  • Benjamin Lavernhe, Mon Inconnue
  • Denis Ménochet, By The Grace Of God/Grâce À Dieu

Best Animation

  • La Fameuse Invasion Des Ours En Sicile, Lorenzo Mattotti
  • The Swallows Of Kabul / Les Hirondelles De Kaboul, Zabou Breitman and Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec
  • I Lost My Body/J’ai Perdu Mon Corps, Jérémy Clapin

Best Original Screenplay

Best Adaptation

  • Costa Gavras, Adults In The Room
  • Roman Polanski, Robert Harris, An Officer And A Spy/J'accuse
  • Jérémy Clapin, Guillaume Laurant, I Lost My Body/J’ai Perdu Mon Corps
  • Arnaud Desplechin, Léa Mysius, Oh Mercy!/Roubaix, Une Lumière
  • Dominik Moll, Gilles Marchand, Seules Les Bêtes

Best original score

Best Documentary

  • 68, Mon Père Et Les Clous, Samuel Biguiaoui
  • The Cordillera Of Dreams/La Cordillière Des Songes, Patricio Guzman
  • Lourdes, Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai
  • M, Yolande Zauberman
  • Wonder Boy, Olivier Rousteing, Anissa Bonnefont, produced by Anissa Bonnefont

Best First Film

  • Atlantics/Atlantique, Mati Diop
  • Au Nom De La Terre, Edouard Bergeon
  • Le Chant Du Loup, Antonin Baudry
  • Les Misérables, Ladj Ly
  • Papicha, Mounia Meddour

Best Foreign Film

Best short film

  • Chien Bleu, Fanny Liatard, Jérémy Trouilh
  • Beautiful Loser, Maxime Roy
  • Le Chant d'Ahmed, Foued Mansour
  • Netfa Football Club, Yves Piat
  • Pile Poil, Lauriane Escaffre, Yvonnick Muller

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