César Awards Nominations: Roman Polanski’s ‘An Officer And A Spy’ Leads With 12; Ladj Ly’s ‘Les Misérables’ Scores 11 – Full List

Nancy Tartaglione
·6 min read

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UPDATED: Nominations for the 45th César Awards were unveiled this morning in Paris, led by Roman Polanski’s Dreyfus Affair drama An Officer And A Spy with 12 including Best Film, Director and Actor (for Jean Dujardin). While Polanski remains a controversial figure owing to his 1977 child sex conviction and subsequent flight from the United States, as well as a more recent allegation (which he has denied), there has been a divide between U.S. and European perspectives in the #MeToo era. An Officer And A Spy premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2019, winning the Grand Jury Prize. In November, it opened No. 1 at the French box office.

France’s equivalent to the Oscars, the Césars are handed out by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma. In 2017, the Académie made headlines over its appointment of Polanski as President of that year’s ceremony. The move was followed by an outcry from women’s groups who vowed to protest the event. The filmmaker ultimately pulled out of the largely honorary position. In November last year, protesters blocked the entrance to a premiere of An Officer And A Spy which Gaumont released locally. Strong reactions are likely after today’s César mentions.

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Elsewhere in the nominations announced this morning, Ladj Ly’s Oscar candidate Les Miserables came up with 11 nods, including Best Film, First Film and Director. This is Ly’s debut feature, though he has had a notable career with documentaries and shorts. Les Misérables premiered in Cannes where it won the Jury Prize. Nicolas Bedos’ La Belle Epoque tied Les Misérables with 11.

Titles from female helmers scored several mentions today including Céline Sciamma’s Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, in Director and Film among its 10 nominations that also include two in the Best Actress race for Adèle Haenel and Noémie Merlant. Mati Diop’s debut Atlantics was also named in the Best First Film category along with two more.

Among the titles to receive nods in the foreign film race are Oscar nominees Parasite, Pain And Glory, Joker and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.

While the Césars typically take place the Friday before the Oscars (causing travel havoc for some), this year’s ceremony will follow on February 28.

The full list of feature nominees is below.

BEST FILM
LA BELLE ÉPOQUE, dir: Nicolas Bedos
GRÂCE À DIEU, dir: François Ozon
HORS NORMES, dirs: Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache
J’ACCUSE (An Officer And A Spy), dir: Roman Polanski
LES MISÉRABLES, dir: Ladj Ly
PORTRAIT DE LA JEUNE FILLE EN FEU (Portrait Of A Lady On Fire), dir: Céline Sciamma
ROUBAIX, UNE LUMIÈRE, dir: Arnaud Desplechin

BEST DIRECTOR
NICOLAS BEDOS – LA BELLE ÉPOQUE
FRANÇOIS OZON – GRÂCE À DIEU
ERIC TOLEDANO, OLIVIER NAKACHE – HORS NORMES
ROMAN POLANSKI – J’ACCUSE
LADJ LY – LES MISÉRABLES
CÉLINE SCIAMMA – PORTRAIT DE LA JEUNE FILLE EN FEU
ARNAUD DESPLECHIN – ROUBAIX, UNE LUMIÈRE

BEST ACTRESS
ANAÏS DEMOUSTIER – ALICE ET LE MAIRE
EVA GREEN – PROXIMA
ADÈLE HAENEL – PORTRAIT DE LA JEUNE FILLE EN FEU
CHIARA MASTROIANNI – CHAMBRE 212
NOÉMIE MERLANT – PORTRAIT DE LA JEUNE FILLE EN FEU
DORIA TILLIER – LA BELLE ÉPOQUE
KARIN VIARD – CHANSON DOUCE

BEST ACTOR
DANIEL AUTEUIL – LA BELLE ÉPOQUE
DAMIEN BONNARD – LES MISÉRABLES
VINCENT CASSEL – HORS NORMES
JEAN DUJARDIN – J’ACCUSE
REDA KATEB – HORS NORMES
MELVIL POUPAUD – GRÂCE À DIEU
ROSCHDY ZEM – ROUBAIX, UNE LUMIÈRE

BEST FOREIGN FILM
PAIN AND GLORY, dir: Pedro Almodovar
LE JEUNE AHMED, dirs: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
JOKER, dir: Todd Phillips
LOLA VERS LA MER, dir: Laurent Micheli
ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD, dir: Quentin Tarantino
PARASITE, dire: Bong Joon-Ho
THE TRAITOR, dir: Marco Bellocchio

BEST DOCUMENTARY
68, MON PÈRE ET LES CLOUS, dir: Samuel Bigiaoui
LA CORDILLÈRE DES SONGES, dir: Patricio Guzman
LOURDES, dirs: Thierry Demaizière, Alain Teurlai
M, dir: Yolande Zauberman
WONDER BOY OLIVIER ROUSTEING, NÉ SOUS X, dir: Anissa Bonnefont

BEST FIRST FILM
ATLANTIQUE (Atlantics), dir: Mati Diop
NOM DE LA TERRE, dir: Edouard Bergeon
LE CHANT DU LOUP, dir: Antonin Baudry
LES MISERABLES, dir: Ladj Ly
PAPICHA, dir: Mounia Meddour

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
NICOLAS BEDOS – LA BELLE ÉPOQUE
FRANÇOIS OZON – GRÂCE À DIEU
ERIC TOLEDANO, OLIVIER NAKACHE – HORS NORMES
LADJ LY, GIORDANO GEDERLINI, ALEXIS MANENTI – LES MISÉRABLES
CÉLINE SCIAMMA – PORTRAIT DE LA JEUNE FILLE EN FEU

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
COSTA-GAVRAS – ADULTS IN THE ROOM
ROMAN POLANSKI, ROBERT HARRIS – J’ACCUSE
JÉRÉMY CLAPIN, GUILLAUME LAURANT – J’AI PERDU MON CORPS
ARNAUD DESPLECHIN, LÉA MYSIUS – ROUBAIX, UNE LUMIÈRE
DOMINIK MOLL, GILLES MARCHAND – SEULES LES BÊTES

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
FANNY ARDANT – LA BELLE ÉPOQUE
JOSIANE BALASKO – GRÂCE À DIEU
LAURE CALAMY – SEULES LES BÊTES
SARA FORESTIER – ROUBAIX, UNE LUMIÈRE
HÉLÈNE VINCENT – HORS NORMES

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
SWANN ARLAUD – GRÂCE À DIEU
GRÉGORY GADEBOIS – J’ACCUSE
LOUIS GARREL – J’ACCUSE
BENJAMIN LAVERNHE – MON INCONNUE
DENIS MÉNOCHET – GRÂCE À DIEU

BEST FEMALE NEWCOMER
LUÀNA BAJRAMI – PORTRAIT DE LA JEUNE FILLE EN FEU
CÉLESTE BRUNNQUELL – LES ÉBLOUIS
LYNA KHOUDRI – PAPICHA
NINA MEURISSE – CAMILLE
MAMA SANÉ – ATLANTIQUE

BEST MALE NEWCOMER
ANTHONY BAJON – AU NOM DE LA TERRE
BENJAMIN LESIEUR – HORS NORMES
ALEXIS MANENTI – LES MISÉRABLES
LIAM PIERRON – LA VIE SCOLAIRE
DJEBRIL ZONGA – LES MISÉRABLES

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
LA FAMEUSE INVASION DES OURS EN SICILE, dir: Lorenzo Mattotti
LES HIRONDELLES DE KABOUL, dir: Zabou Breitman
J’AI PERDU MON CORPS (I Lost My Body), dir: Jérémy Clapin

BEST EDITING
ANNY DANCHÉ, FLORENT VASSAULT – LA BELLE ÉPOQUE
LAURE GARDETTE – GRÂCE À DIEU
DORIAN RIGAL-ANSOUS – HORS NORMES
HERVÉ DE LUZE – J’ACCUSE
FLORA VOLPELIÈRE – LES MISÉRABLES

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
NICOLAS BOLDUC – LA BELLE ÉPOQUE
PAWEL EDELMAN – J’ACCUSE
JULIEN POUPARD – LES MISÉRABLES
CLAIRE MATHON – PORTRAIT DE LA JEUNE FILLE EN FEU
IRINA LUBTCHANSKY – ROUBAIX, UNE LUMIÈRE

BEST COSTUMES
EMMANUELLE YOUCHNOVSKI – LA BELLE ÉPOQUE
THIERRY DELETTRE – EDMOND
PASCALINE CHAVANNE – J’ACCUSE
ALEXANDRA CHARLES – JEANNE
DOROTHÉE GUIRAUD – PORTRAIT DE LA JEUNE FILLE EN FEU

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
STÉPHANE ROZENBAUM – LA BELLE ÉPOQUE
BENOÎT BAROUH – LE CHANT DU LOUP
FRANCK SCHWARZ – EDMOND
JEAN RABASSE – J’ACCUSE
THOMAS GRÉZAUD – PORTRAIT DE LA JEUNE FILLE EN FEU

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
FATIMA AL QADIRI – ATLANTIQUE
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT – J’ACCUSE
DAN LÉVY – J’AI PERDU MON CORPS
MARCO CASANOVA, KIM CHAPIRON – LES MISÉRABLES
GRÉGOIRE HETZEL – ROUBAIX, UNE LUMIÈRE

BEST SOUND
RÉMI DARU, SÉVERIN FAVRIAU, JEAN-PAUL HURIER – LA BELLE ÉPOQUE
NICOLAS CANTIN, THOMAS DESJONQUÈRES, RAPHAËL MOUTERDE, OLIVIER GOINARD, RANDY THOM – LE CHANT DU LOUP
LUCIEN BALIBAR, AYMERIC DEVOLDÈRE, CYRIL HOLTZ, NIELS BARLETTA – J’ACCUSE
ARNAUD LAVALEIX, JÉRÔME GONTHIER, MARCO CASANOVA – LES MISÉRABLES
JULIEN SICART, VALÉRIE DE LOOF, DANIEL SOBRINO – PORTRAIT DE LA JEUNE FILLE EN FEU

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