’Lost Illusions’, ‘Annette’, ‘Aline’ lead France’s Cesar nominations

Xavier Giannoli’s literary adaptation Lost Illusions is the frontrunner in the nomination stage of the 47th edition of France’s César awards, followed by Leos Carax’s Annette and Valérie Lemercier’s Aline.

France’s Academy of Cinema and Arts and Sciences unveiled the nomination list online on Wednesday morning (January 26), ahead of the ceremony scheduled to take place on February 25. 

Giannoli’s adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s eponymous 19th-century novel, which premiered in competition at Venice last year, was nominated in 15 of the 24 categories including best film and best director.

Annette, for which Leos Carax won best director at Cannes, picked up 11 nominations, and Lemercier’s fictionalised Celine Dion biopic Aline clinched 10.

Other films picking up multiple nominations included Cédric Jimenez’s The Stronghold (7), Catherine Corsini’s The Divide (6) and Yann Gozlan’s Black Box.

In a development that is likely to prompt discussion within the French film industry, Julia Ducournau’s Palme d’Or winner Titane and Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion winner Happening were nominated in just four categories, although both filmmakers made it into the best director category. Titane, France’s submission to the 2022 Oscars, missed out on a best film nomination.

Celine Sciamma’s Petite Maman - which was released in France last summer after world premiering in competition in Berlin and has since been nominated in more than 20 international critics awards, did not make it into a single category. The director picked up a shared nomination, however, as a co-writer on Jacques Audiard’s Paris, 13th District.

The lead for Lost Illusions was due in part to six nominations across the acting categories for its ensemble cast. It remains to be seen whether the nominations haul results in awards. The film also led the nominations in France’s recent Lumière awards but won in just one category, best screenplay for Giannoli. 

The Césars are voted on by the 4,363 members of the César academy. The body said that 68.7% of these members had voted in the first round, adding that this was the highest level of participation for years. 

The second round of voting will begin on February 1 to close on the afternoon of February 25, ahead of that evening’s in-person ceremony at the theatre, presided over de Danièle Thompson and Antoine de Caunes.

Cesar Nominations in key film and acting categories

Best Film

• Aline, Valérie Lemercier
• Annette, Leos Carax
• The Stronghold, Cédric Jimenez
• Happening, Audrey Diwan
• The Divide, Catherine Corsini
• Lost Illusions, Xavier Giannoli
• Onoda, 10,000 Nights In The Jungle, Arthur Harari

Best Director

• Valérie Lemercier, Aline
• Leos Carax, Annette
• Cedric Diwan, The Stronghold
• Xavier Giannoli, Lost Illusions
• Arthur Harari, 10,000 Nights In The Jungle
• Julia Ducournau, Titane

Best screenplay

• Valérie Lemercier, Brigitte Buc, Aline
• Leos Carax, Ron Mael, Russell Mael, Annette
• Yann Gozlan, Simon Moutaïrou, Nicolas Bouvet-Levrard, Black Box
• Catherine Corsini, Laurette Polmanss, Agnès Feuvre, The Divide
• Arthur Harari, Vincent Poymiro, Onoda, 10,000 Nights In The Jungle

Best screenplay adaptation

• Yaël Langmann, Yvan Attal, The Accusation
• Audrey Diwan, Marcia Romano, Happening
• Xavier Giannoli, Jacques Fieschi, Lost Ilusions
• Céline Sciamma, Léa Mysius, Jacques Audiard, Paris, 13th District
• Mathieu Amalric, Hold Me Tight

Best Actress

• Leïla Bekhti, The Restless
• Valeria Bruno Tedeschi, The Divide
• Laura Calamy, Her Way
• Virginie Efira, Benedetta
• Vicky, Krieps, Hold Me Tight
• Valérie Lemercier, Aline
• Léa Seydoux, France

Best actor

• Damien Bonnard, The Restless
• Adam Driver, Annette
• Gilles Lellouche, The Stronghold
• Vincent Macaigne, Night Doctor
• Benoit Magimel, Peaceful
• Pio Marmaï, The Divide
• Pierre Niney, Black Box

Best actress in a supporting role

• Jeanne Balibar, Lost Illusions
• Cécile de France, Lost Illusions
• Aissatou Diallo Sagna, The Divide
• Adèle Exarchopoulos, Mandibles
• Danielle Fichaud, Aline

Best actor in a supporting role

• François Civil, The Stronghold
• Xavier Dolan, Lost Illusions
• Vincent Lacoste, Lost Illusions
• Karim Leklou, The Stronghold
• Sylvain Marcel, Aline

Best female acting hope

• Noée Abita, Slalom
• Salomé Dewaels, Lost Illusions
• Agathe Rousselle, Titane
• Anamaria Vartolomei, Happening
• Lucie Zhang, Paris, 13th District

Best male acting hope

• Sandor Funtek, Suprêmes
• Sami Aoutalbali, A Story Of Love And Desire
• Thimotée Robart, Magnetic Beats
• Makita Samba, Paris, 13th District
• Benjamin Voisin, Lost Illusions

Best animated feature

• Even Mice Belong In Heaven, Denisa Grimmova, Jan Bubenicek
• The Summit Of The Gods, Patrick Imbert
• The Crossing, Florence Miailhe

Best documentary feature

• Animal, Cyril Dion
• Bigger Than Us, Flore Vasseur
• Those Who Care, Gilles Perret, François Ruffin
• Gallant Indies, Philippe Béziat
• The Velvet Queen, Marie Amiguet, Vincent Munier

Best first film

• Gagarine, Fanny Liatard, Jérémy Trouilh
• Magnetic Beats, Vincent Maél Cardona
• The Swarm, Just Philpott
• The Velvet Queen, Marie Amiguet, Vincent Munier
• Slalom, Charlène Favier

Best foreign film

• Compartment No. 6, Juho Kuosmanen
• Drive My Car, Ryusuke Hamaguchi
• First Cow, Kelly Reichardt
• The Worst Person In The World, Joachim Trier
• The Law Of Teheran, Safeed Roustayi
• Parallel Mothers, Pedro Almodovar
• The Father, Florian Zeller