In just a few hours, the eagerly-awaited 49th César ceremony will take place under the presidency of actress Valérie Lemercier, who will once again bring her charm and wit to the stage. For once, the presentation will be a collective work, bringing together a group of renowned actors and directors. The cast includes Ariane Ascaride, Bérénice Bejo, Dali Benssalah, Juliette Binoche, Dany Boon, Bastien Bouillon, Audrey Diwan, Ana Girardot, Diane Kruger, Benoît Magimel, Paul Mirabel, Nadia Tereszkiewicz and Jean-Pascal Zadi.
However, the evening is not just a celebration of cinematic excellence; it will also address critical issues within the industry. Judith Godrèche, an accomplished actress and leading voice of the #MeToo movement, is scheduled to deliver a powerful speech. Judith Godrèche, who courageously brought charges against directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon for sexual assault, aims to highlight the pervasive culture of silence and the suppression of voices in the face of harassment and assault.
Her presence on the César stage underscores the ongoing struggle for accountability and the need for change within the film industry. The 49th edition of the César Awards becomes not only a celebration of cinematic achievement, but also a platform for crucial conversations that demand attention and action.
As a reminder, here are the various categories in competition:
Best Film
Anatomie d'une chute by Justine Triet, produced by Marie-Ange Luciani and David Thion
Chien de la casse by Jean-Baptiste Durand, produced by Anaïs Bertrand
Je verrai toujours vos visages by Jeanne Herry, produced by Hugo Sélignac and Alain Attal
Le Procès Goldman by Cédric Kahn, produced by Benjamin Elalouf
Le Règne animal by Thomas Cailley, produced by Pierre Guyard
Best director
Catherine Breillat for L'Été dernier
Cédric Kahn for Le Procès Goldman
Jeanne Herry for Je verrai toujours vos visages
Justine Triet for Anatomie d'une chute
Thomas Cailley for Le Règne animal
Best actor
Arieh Worthalter for his role as Pierre Goldman in Le Procès Goldman
Benjamin Lavernhe for his role as Abbé Pierre in L'Abbé Pierre
Melvil Poupaud for his role as Grégoire Lamoureux in L'Amour et les Forêts
Raphaël Quenard for his role as Yannick in Yannick
Romain Duris for his role as François Marindaze in Le Règne animal
Best actress
Hafsia Herzi for her role as Lydia in Le Ravissement
Léa Drucker for her role as Anne in L'Été dernier
Marion Cotillard for her role as Carole Achache in Little Girl Blue
Sandra Hüller for her role as Sandra Voyter in Anatomie d'une chute
Virginie Efira for her role as Blanche Renard / Rose Renard in L'Amour et les Forêts
Best Supporting Actor
Anthony Bajon for his role as Dog in Chien de la casse
Antoine Reinartz for his role as the public prosecutor in Anatomie d'une chute
Arthur Harari for his role as Maître Georges Kiejman in Le Procès Goldman
Pio Marmaï for his role as Paul Rivière in Yannick
Swann Arlaud for his role as Me Vincent Renzi in Anatomie d'une chute
Best Supporting Actress
Adèle Exarchopoulos for her role as Chloé Delarme in Je verrai toujours vos visages
Élodie Bouchez for her role as Judith in Je verrai toujours vos visages
Galatéa Bellugi for her role as Elsa in Chien de la casse
Leïla Bekhti for her role as Nawelle in Je verrai toujours vos visages
Miou-Miou for her role as Sabine in Je verrai toujours vos visages
Best Female Newcomer
Céleste Brunnquell for her role as Rosa Gravier in La Fille de son père
Ella Rumpf for her role as Marguerite Hoffmann in Le Théorème de Marguerite
Kim Higelin for her role as Vanessa Springora (teenager) in Le Consentement
Rebecca Marder for her role as Madeleine Pastor in De grandes espérances
Suzanne Jouannet for her role as Sophie Vasseur in La Voie royale
Best Male Newcomer
Julien Frison for his role as Lucas Savelli in Le Théorème de Marguerite
Milo Machado-Graner for his role as Daniel Maleski in Anatomie d'une chute
Paul Kircher for his role as Émile Marindaze in Le Règne animal
Raphaël Quenard for his role as Mirales in Chien de la casse
Samuel Kircher (de) for his role as Théo in L'Été dernier
Best original screenplay
Jean-Baptiste Durand for Chien de la casse
Jeanne Herry for Je verrai toujours vos visages
Justine Triet and Arthur Harari for Anatomie d'une chute
Nathalie Hertzberg and Cédric Kahn for The Goldman Trial
Thomas Cailley and Pauline Munier for Le Règne animal
Best Adaptation
Catherine Breillat for L'Été dernier
Valérie Donzelli and Audrey Diwan for L'Amour et les Forêts4
Vanessa Filho for Le Consentement
Best Original Score
Andrea Laszlo De Simone for Le Règne animal
Delphine Malausséna for Chien de la casse
Gabriel Yared for L'Amour et les Forêts
Guillaume Roussel for The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan and The Three Musketeers: Milady
Vitalic for Disco Boy
Best sound
David Rit, Gwennolé Le Borgne, Olivier Touche, Cyril Holtz and Niels Barletta for Les Trois Mousquetaires : D'Artagnan and Les Trois Mousquetaires : Milady
Erwan Kerzanet, Sylvain Malbrant and Olivier Guillaume for Le Procès Goldman
Fabrice Osinski, Raphaël Sohier, Matthieu Fichet and Niels Barletta for Le Règne animal (Animal Kingdom)
Julien Sicart, Fanny Martin, Jeanne Deplancq and Olivier Goinard for Anatomie d'une chute
Rémi Daru, Guadalupe Cassius, Loïc Prian and Marc Doisne for Je verrai toujours vos visages (I'll Always See Your Faces)
Best photography
David Cailley for Le Règne animal
Jonathan Ricquebourg for La Passion de Dodin Bouffant
Nicolas Bolduc for The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan and The Three Musketeers: Milady
Patrick Ghiringhelli for Le Procès Goldman
Simon Beaufils for Anatomie d'une chute
Best editing
Francis Vesin for Je verrai toujours vos visages
Laurent Sénéchal for Anatomie d'une chute
Lilian Corbeille for Le Règne animal
Valérie Loiseleux for Little Girl Blue
Yann Dedet for Le Procès Goldman
Best costumes
Ariane Daurat for Le Règne animal
Jürgen Doering for Jeanne du Barry
Pascaline Chavanne for Mon crime
Thierry Delettre for The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan and The Three Musketeers: Milady
Tran Nu Yên Khê for La Passion de Dodin Bouffant
Best sets
Angelo Zamparutti for Jeanne du Barry
Emmanuelle Duplay for Anatomie d'une chute
Julia Lemaire for Le Règne animal
Stéphane Taillasson for The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan and The Three Musketeers: Milady
Toma Baquéni for La Passion de Dodin Bouffant
Best visual effects
Cyrille Bonjean, Bruno Sommier and Jean-Louis Autret for Le Règne animal
Léo Ewald for Vermines
Lise Fischer and Cédric Fayolle for La Montagne
Olivier Cauwet for The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan and The Three Musketeers: Milady
Thomas Duval for Acide
Best animated short
Drôles d'oiseaux by Charlie Belin, produced by Virginie Giachino and Jean-Stéphane Michaux
Été 96 by Mathilde Bédouet, produced by Ninon Chapuis, Thibault de Gantès, Lucas Le Postec and Simon Ingelaere
La Forêt de Mademoiselle Tang by Denis Do, produced by Sébastien Onomo
Best Documentary Short
La Mécanique des fluides by Gala Hernández López, produced by Ninon Chapuis, Thibault de Gantès and Lucas Le Postec
L'Acteur, ou la surprenante vertu de l'incompréhension by Hugo David and Raphaël Quenard, produced by Anaïs Bertrand and Raphaël Quenard
L'Effet de mes rides by Claude Delafosse, produced by Yves Bouveret
Best Fiction Short Film
Boléro by Nans Laborde-Jourdàa, produced by Margaux Lorier
L'Attente by Alice Douard, produced by Marie Boitard and Alice Douard
Les Silencieux by Basile Vuillemin, produced by Thomas Guentch
Rapide by Paul Rigoux, produced by Anne Luthaud
Best animated film
Interdit aux chiens et aux Italiens by Alain Ughetto, produced by Alexandre Cornu, Jean-François Le Corre and Mathieu Courtois
Linda veut du poulet! by Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach, produced by Marc Irmer, Emmanuel-Alain Raynal and Pierre Baussaron
Mars Express by Jérémie Périn, produced by Didier Creste
Best documentary film
Atlantic Bar by Fanny Molins, produced by Chloé Servel and Nicolas Tiry
Les Filles d'Olfa (Olfa's Daughters) by Kaouther Ben Hania, produced by Nadim Cheikhrouha
Little Girl Blue by Mona Achache, produced by Laetitia Gonzalez and Yaël Fogiel
Notre corps by Claire Simon, produced by Kristina Larsen
Sur l'Adamant by Nicolas Philibert, produced by Miléna Poylo, Gilles Sacuto and Céline Loiseau
Best first film
Bernadette by Léa Domenach, produced by Antoine Rein and Fabrice Goldstein
Chien de la casse by Jean-Baptiste Durand, produced by Anaïs Bertrand
Le Ravissement by Iris Kaltenbäck, produced by Alice Bloch and Thierry de Clermont-Tonnerre
Vermines by Sébastien Vaniček, produced by Harry Tordjman
Vincent doit mourir by Stéphan Castang, produced by Thierry Lounas and Claire Bonnefoy
Best foreign film
The Abduction by Marco Bellocchio (Italy)
Dead Leaves by Aki Kaurismäki (Finland)
Oppenheimer by Christopher Nolan (United States)
Perfect Days by Wim Wenders (Germany, Japan)
Simple comme Sylvain by Monia Chokri (Canada, France)
Honorary César
Finally, Agnès Jaoui and Christopher Nolan will receive an honorary César.
Photos: Copyright Académie des César
(Source : Press release)