Roman Polanski’s ‘An Officer and a Spy’ Leads Cesar Awards Nominations

Elsa Keslassy
·6 min read

Click here to read the full article.

Roman Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy” is leading the race for the Cesar Awards, France’s top film honors, with 12 nominations, followed by Ladj Ly’s Oscar-nominated “Les Miserables.”

“An Officer and a Spy” earned nominations for best film, director, actor (Jean Dujardin), cinematography, set design, costume and music, among others. Although he’s been at the heart of a backlash, Polanski also just won best director at the Lumieres Awards which are given by the foreign press based in Paris. “An Officer and a Spy” world premiered at the Venice Film Festival and won the Silver Lion.

More from Variety

“An Officer and a Spy” tells the true story of counter-espionage officer Georges Picquart, who defied orders and embarked on a compromising mission to clear the name of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a promising French-Jewish officer who was unfairly accused of spying for Germany in the late 1890s. In spite of calls for boycott in France, the movie sold more than 1.4 million admissions in France, becoming one of Polanski’s most successful film in the country. It’s been sold to most major territories by Playtime.

“Les Miserables,” meanwhile, was nominated for 11 Cesar Awards, including best film, director, male newcomers (Alexis Manenti and Djebril Zonga), original screenplay, cinematography and music, among others. The movie just won a Goya award for best foreign-language film and three Lumieres Awards. The searing police violence drama opened in competition at Cannes and won the jury prize.

“Les Miserables” was inspired by the 2005 French riots and examines the tensions between neighborhood residents and police that helped inflame the rioting. It centers on three cops who find themselves overrun during the course of an arrest. The film is being handled by Amazon in the U.S. and was sold around the world by Wild Bunch International.

Celine Sciamma’s Golden Globe nominated “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” is vying for 10 nominations, including film, director and actress (Celine Sciamma and Noemie Merlant). The movie competed at Cannes and won best screenplay. It’s been sold worldwide by MK2 and was released in the U.S. by Neon.

Todd Phillips’s “Joker” is nominated for best foreign-language film, along with Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite,” Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Pedro Almodovar’s “Pain & Glory,” Matteo Garrone’s “The Traitor,” Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s “Young Ahmed” and Laurent Micheli’s “Lola vers la mer.”

Other leading Cesar nominees include Arnaud Desplechin’s “Oh Mercy,” Nicolas Bedos’s “La belle époque,” Francois Ozon’s “By The Grace of God,” as well as Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache’s “The Specials.” The best first film category comprises of Mounia Meddour’s “Papicha,” Mati Diop’s “Atlantics,” Anthony Baudry’s “The Wolf’s Call,” Edouard Bergeon’s “Au nom de la terre” and “Les Miserables,”

The Cesar ceremony will take place on Feb. 28 at the Pleyel Theater in Paris. The ceremony will be presided by French actress Sandrine Kiberlain.

And the nominees are:

Best Film

“La Belle Epoque,” Nicolas Bedos
“By The Grace of God,” François Ozon
“The Specials,” Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache
“An Officer And A Spy,” Roman Polanski
“Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly
“Portrait Of A Lady On Fire,” Céline Sciamma
“Oh Mercy,” Arnaud Desplechin

Best Director

François Ozon, “By The Grace of God”
Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache, “The Specials”
Roman Polanski, “An Officer And A Spy”
Ladj Ly, “Les Miserables”
Céline Sciamma, “Portrait Of A Lady On Fire”
Arnaud Desplechin, “Oh Mercy”

Best Actress

Anais Demoustier, “Alice and The Mayor”
Eva Green, “Proxima”
Adele Haenel, “Portrait Of A Lady On Fire”
Chiara Mastroianni, “Chambre 212”
Noemie Merlant, “Portrait Of A Lady On Fire”
Doria Tillier, “La belle époque”
Karin Viard, “The Perfect Nanny”

Best Actor

Daniel Auteuil, “La belle époque”
Damien Bonnard, “Les Miserables”
Vincent Cassel, “The Specials”
Jean Dujardin, “An Officer and a Spy”
Read Kateb, “The Specials”
Melvil Poupaud, “By The Grace of God”
Roschdy Zem, “Oh Mercy”

Best Foreign Film

“Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodovar
“The Young Ahmed,” Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
“Joker,” Todd Phillips
“Lola vers la mer,” Laurent Micheli
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino
“Parasite,” Bong Joon-Ho
“The Traitor,” Marco Bellocchio

Best Documentary

“68, mon père et les clous,” Samuel Bigiaoui
“La cordillere des songes,” Patricio Guzman
“Lourdes,” Thierry Demaizière, Alain Teurlai
“M,” Yolande Zauberman
“Wonder Boy Olivier Rousteing, ne sous X,” Anissa Bonnefont

Best First Film

“Atlantics,” Mati Diop
“Nom de la terre, Edouard Bergeon
“Wolf’s Call,” Antonin Baudry
“Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly
“Papicha,” Mounia Meddour

Best Original Screenplay

Nicolas Bedos, “La Belle Epoque”
François Ozon, “By The Grace of God”
Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache, “The Specials”
Ladj Ly, Giordano Gederlini, Alexis Manenti, “Les Miserables”
Céline Sciamma, “Portrait Of A Lady On Fire”

Best Adapted Screenplay

Costa-Gavras, “Adults in the Room”
Roman Polanski, Robert Harris, “An Officer and a Spy”
Jeremy Clapin, Guillaume Laurent, “I Lost My Body”
Arnaud Desplechin, Lea Mysius, “Oh Mercy”
Dominik Moll, Gilles Marchand, “Seuls les bêtes”

Best Supporting Actress

Fanny Ardant, “La Belle Époque”
Josiane Balasko, “By The Grace of God”
Laure Calamy, “Seules les Bêtes ”
Sara Forestier, “Oh Mercy”
Hélène Vincent, “The Specials”

Best Supporting Actor

Swann Arlaud, “By The Grace of God”
Grégory Gadebois, “An Officer and a Spy”
Louis Garrel, “An Officer and a Spy”
Benjamin Lavernhe, “Mon Inconnue”
Denis Ménochet, “By The Grace of God’

Best Female Newcomer

Luàna Bajrami, “Portrait of a Young Lady on Fire”
Céleste Brunnquell, “Les Éblouis”
Lyna Khoudri, “Papicha”
Nina Meurisse, “Camille”
Mama Sané, “Atlantics”

Best Male Newcomer

Anthony Bajon, “Au Nom de la Terre”
Benjamin Lesieur, “The Specials”
Alexis Manenti, “Les Misérables”
Liam Pierron, “La Vie Scolaire”
Djebril Zonga, “Les Misérables”

Best Animated Feature

“La Fameuse Invasion des Ours en Sicile,” Lorenzo Mattotti
“Les Hirondelles de Kaboul,” Zabou Breitman
“I Lost My Body,” Jérémy Clapin

Best Editing

Anna Danché, Florent Vassault, “La belle époque”
Laure Gardette, “By The Grace of God”
Dorian Rigal-Ansous, “The Specials”
Hervé de Luze, “An Officer and a Spy”
Flora Volpeliere, “Les Miserables”

Best Cinematography

Nicolas Bolduc, “La Belle Epoque”
Pawel Edelman, “An Officer and a Spy”
Julien Poupard, “Les Miserables”
Claire Mathon, ” Portrait of a Young Lady on Fire”
Irina Lubtchansky “Oh Mercy”

Best Costums

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

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.