Cerermony - Paris Film Critics Awards 2025: The nominations have been announced

By Mulder, 24 february 2025

The fourth edition of the Paris Film Critics Awards is shaping up to be a must-attend event for film enthusiasts. Since their creation in 2022, these awards have been presented each year to the best French and international productions, whether released in theaters or broadcast on streaming platforms. A jury of 130 Parisian journalists specializing in cinema and culture is responsible for awarding these prestigious distinctions.

The nominations for the 2025 edition were revealed on Friday, February 21, 2025, highlighting the films and series that made an impact in the previous year. This year, 19 categories are in competition, in addition to 4 special or honorary awards. The awards ceremony will be held on March 9, 2025, at the Hôtel Royal Monceau-Raffles Paris, an exceptional venue that is home to the only movie theater in a Parisian palace.

Among the most notable works in this edition, The Count of Monte Cristo, directed by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière, dominates with 11 nominations. It is closely followed by Jacques Audiard's latest film, The Sisters Brothers, by Emilia Pérez, which has 10 nominations. The Substance, the thriller by Coralie Fargeat, completes the podium with 7 nominations. In the Best Film category, the competition promises to be intense with works as varied as Sean Baker's Anora, Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière's The Count of Monte Cristo, Jacques Audiard's Emilia Pérez, Boris Lojkine's The Story of Souleymane, Coralie Fargeat's The Substance, and Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest.

The directors in the running for Best Director include Jacques Audiard for Emilia Pérez, Sean Baker for Anora, Coralie Fargeat for The Substance, Gilles Lellouche for L'Amour Ouf, Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière for Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, and Boris Lojkine for L'Histoire de Souleymane.

In terms of performances, the nominations for Best Actress highlight some remarkable performances. Karla Sofía Gascón has been nominated for Emilia Pérez, as has Hafsia Herzi for Borgo, Sandrine Kiberlain for Sarah Bernhardt, La Divine, Mikey Madison for Anora, Demi Moore for The Substance, and Emma Stone for Pauvres Créatures (Poor Things). For the Best Actor award, the men in contention are Ralph Fiennes (The Conclave), Karim Leklou (The Romance of Jim), Pierre Niney (The Count of Monte Cristo), Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice), Pierre Lottin (En Fanfare) and Sofiane Zermani (Barbès, Little Algeria).

Animated films are also in the spotlight, with a high-quality selection for Best Animated Film. Nominees include Flow (Straume, Gints Zilbalodis), The Most Precious Cargo (Michel Hazanavicius), The Wild Robot (Chris Sanders), Sauvages (Claude Barras), Silex and the City (Jul, Jean-Paul Guigue), and Inside Out 2 (Vice-Versa 2, Kelsey Mann).

Finally, the Best Documentary category highlights committed and striking works, including The Beauty of Gaza (Yolande Zauberman), Bye Bye Tiberias (Lina Soualem), Dahomey (Mati Diop), Ernest Cole, photographer (Raoul Peck), Once Upon a Time... Michel Legrand (David Hertzog Dessites), and Madame Hofmann (Sébastien Lifshitz).

In the television section, the race for the Best Series or Miniseries title is also very competitive. The nominees are DJ Mehdi: Made in France (Arte), La Fièvre (Canal+), Hippocrate (Season 3) (Canal+), Mon Petit Renne (Baby Reindeer) (Netflix), Severance (Season 2) (Apple TV), and Zorro (Paramount / France TV). With such fierce competition and top talent vying for the prize, the 2025 Paris Film Critics Awards promise to be a ceremony full of surprises and excitement. On March 9, the winners will finally be revealed at an evening that promises to be memorable for all lovers of the seventh art.

Best Film
Anora / Sean Baker
The Count of Monte Cristo / Matthieu Delaporte, Alexandre de La Patellière
Emilia Pérez  / Michel Audiard
The Story of Souleymane / Boris Lojkine
The Substance / Coralie Fargeat
The Zone of Interest / Jonathan Glazer

Best Director
Jacques Audiard / Emilia Pérez
Sean Baker / Anora
Coralie Fargeat / The Substance
Gilles Lellouche / Love Phew
Matthieu Delaporte, Alexandre de La Patellière / The Count of Monte Cristo
Boris Lojkine / The Story of Souleymane

Best actress
Karla Sofía Gascón / Emilia Pérez
Hafsia Herzi / Borgo
Sandrine Kiberlain / Sarah Bernhardt, The Divine
Mikey Madison / Anora
Demi Moore / The Substance
Emma Stone / Pauvres Créatures (Poor Things)

Best Actor
Ralph Fiennes / Conclave
Karim Leklou / Le Roman de Jim
Pierre Niney / Le Comte de Monte-Cristo
Sebastian Stan / The Apprentice
Pierre Lottin / En Fanfare
Sofiane Zermani / Barbès, little Algérie

Best Supporting Actress
Catherine Frot / Miséricorde
Margaret Qualley / The Substance
Zoe Saldaña / Emilia Pérez
Anamaria Vartolomei / Le Comte de Monte-Cristo
Mallory Wanecque / L'Amour Ouf
Isabella Rossellini / Conclave

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Yura Borisov / Anora
Alain Chabat / L'Amour Ouf
Jean-Baptiste Durand / Miséricorde
Laurent Lafitte / Le Comte de Monte-Cristo
Pierre Lottin / Quand vient l'automne
Jeremy Strong / The Apprentice

Best Newcomer, Female
Cailee Spaeny / Priscilla
Ghjuvanna Benedetti / Le Royaume
Maïwène Barthélemy / Vingt dieux
Malou Khebizi / Diamant Brut
Megan Northam / Rabia
Mallory Wanecque / Love Phew

Best male newcomer
Adam Bessa / The Ghosts
Sayyid El Alami / Their children after them
Clément Faveau / Twenty gods
Malik Frikah / Love Phew
Félix Kysyl / Mercy
Abou Sangaré / The Story of Souleymane

Best Original Screenplay
Anora / Sean Baker
Borgo / Stéphane Demoustier
En fanfare / Emmanuel Courcol, Irène Muscari
Les Fantômes / Jonathan Millet, Florence Rochat
Les Graines du figuier sauvage /  Mohammad Rasoulof
L'Histoire de Souleymane / Boris Lojkine, Delphine Agut
The Substance / Coralie Fargeat

Best Adaptation
The Count of Monte Cristo / Matthieu Delaporte, Alexandre de La Patellière
Conclave / Paul Straughan
Émilia Pérez / Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius, Nicolas Livecchi
Miséricorde / Alain Guiraudie
The Most Precious of Commodities / Michel Hazanavicius, Jean-Claude Grumberg
The Story of Jim / Arnaud Larrieu, Jean-Marie Larrieu
The Zone of Interest / Jonathan Glazer

Best Cinematography
The Count of Monte Cristo / Nicolas Bolduc
Dune: part. 2 / Greig Fraser
Emilia Pérez / Paul Guilhaume
The Story of Souleymane / Tristan Galand
The Substance / Benjamin Kračun
The Zone of Interest / Lukasz Zal

Best Editing
Love, Outrageously / Simon Jacquet
The Apprentice / Olivier Bugge Coutté, Olivia Neergaard-Holm
The Count of Monte Cristo / Célia Lafitedupont
Emilia Pérez / Juliette Welfling
Poor Things / Yorgos Mavropsaridis
The Zone of Interest / Paul Watts

Best original music
Love the Hard Way / Jon Brion
Challengers / Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
The Count of Monte Cristo / Jérôme Rebotier
Dune: part. 2 / Hans Zimmer
Emilia Pérez / Camille Ducol, Clément Ducol
The Most Valuable Commodity / Alexandre Desplat

Best sets
Conclave / Suzie Davies
The Count of Monte Cristo / Stéphane Taillasson
Emilia Pérez / Emmanuelle Duplay
Poor Things / James Price
Sarah Bernhardt, la divine / Olivier Radot
The Substance / Stanislas Reydellet

Best Costume Design
The Count of Monte Cristo / Thierry Delettre
Dune: part. 2 / Jacqueline West
Emilia Perez / Virginie Montel
Nosferatu / Linda Muir
Poor Things / Holly Waddington
Sarah Bernhardt, la divine / Anaïs Romand

Best first film
Barbès, Little Algérie / Hassan Guerrar
Diamant brut / Agathe Riedinger
Le Royaume / Julien Colonna
Les Fantômes / Jonathan Millet
Rabia / Mareike Engelhardt
Tatami / Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Guy Nattiv
Twenty Gods / Louise Courvoisier

Best animated film
Flow, the cat who was no longer afraid of water  (Straume) / Gints Zilbalodis
The Most Precious of Goods /Michel Hazanavicius
The Wild Robot / Chris Sanders
Savage / Claude Barras
Silex and the City / Jul, Jean-Paul Guigue
Inside Out 2 / Kelsey Mann

Best documentary
The Beauty of Gaza / Yolande Zauberman
Bye Bye Tiberias / Lina Soualem
Dahomey / Mati Diop
Ernest Cole, photographer / Raoul Peck
Once Upon a Time... Michel Legrand / David Hertzog Dessites
Madame Hofmann / Sébastien Lifshitz

Best series (or miniseries)
DJ Mehdi: Made in France (Arte) / Thibaut de Longeville
La Fièvre (Canal+) / Éric Benzekri
Hippocrate (Season 3) (Canal+) / Thomas Lilti
Mon Petit Renne (Baby Reindeer) (Netflix) / Richard Gadd
Severance (Season 2) (Apple TV) / Dan Erickson
Zorro (Paramount / France TV) / Benjamin Charbit, Noé Debré

(Source: press release)