Robert Redford served as the guest of honor, while Diane Kruger led a tribute to late Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld.

France's Cesar Awards on Friday crowned Custody the best film of the year. Filled with long speeches and no commercial breaks, the ceremony clocked in at three hours and 10 minutes, with Robert Redford as the guest of honor and Diane Kruger leading a tribute to late Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld. 

In accepting his honor, Redford recalled his teen travels to Paris and Cannes, joking that he bought a beret before his trip to blend in, but it made him stand out. He said that returning reminds him of how as he gets older, the years seem to get shorter. It was a touching speech, even if the audience might have expected some political words from the normally outspoken Sundance founder.

Redford, who has said he has retired from acting after declaring The Old Man and the Gun his last film, fleetingly told press the world needs to fight climate change but shied away from questions backstage at Paris' Salle Pleyel.

His Horse Whisperer co-star Kristin Scott Thomas presided over the ceremony, with Monica Bellucci, Guillaume Canet and Lily Rose Depp among those in the audience. 

Kruger, a longtime friend and fan of Lagerfeld, paid tribute to the designer, who died Wednesday. "It's impossible to imagine climbing the steps in Cannes or an Oscar ceremony without one of his mythical creations," the actress said, calling him an icon. "His sense of humor and worldview, often hilarious, will be missed. I miss him, I miss him terribly."

Xavier Legrand's domestic-violence drama Custody was, if not a total surprise, an unexpected winner for best film. The pic had been nominated for 10 awards and had already won three in the best editing, screenplay and actress categories, but the Oscar-nominated director had been tipped for best first film honors, having won the Louis Delluc prize in that category in December. 

Legrand urged the audience to pay heed to incidents of domestic violence, citing some somber statistics from the stage. "I think it's time to think of these victims on days other than Nov. 25 [International Women's Day] ," he said.

Prize winners for the films Little Tickles and Wicked Girl, who took home best adapted screenplay and best animated short honors, respectively, also called attention to the frequency of child sexual abuse in their acceptance speeches.

Gilles Lellouche's mid-life crisis comedy Sink or Swim was also nominated for 10 prizes, but despite being a box office hit, it only received one trophy, the best supporting actor prize for Philippe Katerine.

Jacques Audiard could be considered the biggest winner of the night, with The Sisters Brothers taking home four awards. That the English-language Western had nine nominations was already a coup, and Audiard snagged the best director prize as well. 

Hirokazu Kore-eda's Palme d'Or winner Shoplifters won in the best foreign-language category over fellow Oscar nominees Cold War, from Poland's Pawel Pawlikowski, and Capernaum, from Lebanon's Nadine Labaki; and Netflix's Girl, the Cannes Camera d'Or winner from Lukas Dhont. The three will be have another chance again on Sunday, though this year there is no French film in competition.

• Best Film

  Memoir of War, Emmanuel Finkiel
  The Trouble With You, Pierre Salvadori
  The Sisters Brothers, Jacques Audiard
  Sink or Swim, Gilles Lellouche
  Guy, Alex Lutz
  WINNER - Custody, Xavier Legrand
  In Safe Hands, Jeanne Herry

• Best Director

  Emmanuel Finkiel, Memoir of War
  Pierre Salvadori, The Trouble With You
  WINNER - Jacques Audiard, The Sisters Brothers
  Gilles Lellouche, Sink or Swim
  Alex Lutz, Guy
  Xavier Legrand, Custody
  Jeanne Harry, In Safe Hands

• Best Actor

  Edouard Baer, Mademoiselle de Joncquieres
  Romain Duris, Our Struggles
  Vincent Lacoste, Amanda
  Gilles Lellouche, In Safe Hands
  WINNER - Alex Lutz, Guy
  Pio Marmai, The Trouble With You
  Denis Menochet, Custody
• Best Actress

  Elodie Bouchez, In Safe Hands
  Cecile de France, Mademoiselle de Joncquieres
  WINNER - Lea Drucker, Custody
  Virginie Efira, An Impossible Love
  Adele Haenel, The Trouble With You
  Sandrine Kiberlain, In Safe Hands
  Melanie Thierry, Memoir of War

• Best Supporting Actor

  Jean-Hugues Anglade, Sink or Swim
  Damien Bonnard, The Trouble With You
  Clovis Cornillac, Little Tickles
  WINNER - Philippe Katerine, Sink or Swim
  Denis Podalydes, Sorry Angel

• Best Supporting Actress

  Isabelle Adjani, The World Is Yours
  Leila Bekhti, Sink or Swim
  Virginie Efira, Sink or Swim
  Audrey Tautou, The Trouble With You
  WINNER - Karin Viard, Little Tickles
• Best Foreign Film

  Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri, Martin McDonaugh
  Capernaum, Nadine Labaki
  Cold War, Pawel Pawlikowski
  Girl, Lukas Dhont
  Hannah, Andrea Pallaoro
  Our Struggles, Guillaume Senez
  WINNER - Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-Eda

• Best Animated Film

  Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion, Alexandre Astier and Louis Clichy
  WINNER - Dilili in Paris, Michel Ocelot
  Pachamama, Juan Antin

• Best First Film

  L'Amour Flou, Romaine Bohringer
  Little Tickles, Andrea Bescond, Eric Metayer
  Custody, Xavier Legrand
  Savage, Camille Vidal-Naquet
  WINNER - Sheherazade, Jean-Bernard Marlin
• Best Documentary Film

  America, Claus Drexel
  Da Chaque Instant, Nicolas Philibert
  Le Grand Bal, Laetitia Carton
  WINNER - Ni Juge, Ni Soumise, Jean Libon, Yves Hinant
  The State Against Mandela and the Others, Nicolas Champeaux, Gilles Porte

• Best Cinematography

  Alexis Kavyrchine, Memoir of War
  WINNER - Benoit Debie, The Sisters Brothers
  Laurent Tangy, Sink or Swim
  Nathalie Durand, Custody
  Laurent Desmet, Mademoiselle de Joncquieres

• Best Production Design

  Pascal Le Guellec, Memoir of War
  Emile Ghigo, The Emperor of Paris
  WINNER - Michel Barthelemy, The Sisters Brothers
  David Faivre, Mademoiselle de Joncquieres
  Thierry Francois, One Nation, One King
• Best Original Screenplay

  The Trouble With You, by Pierre Salvadori, Beoit Graffin, Benjamin Charbit
  Sink or Swim, by Gilles Lellouche, Ahmed Hamidi, Julien Lambroschini
  Guy, by Alex Lutz, Anais Deban, Thibault Segouin
  WINNER - Custody, by Xavier Legrand
  In Safe Hands, Jeanne Herry

• Best Adapted Screenplay

  WINNER - Little Tickles, by Andrea Bescond, Eric Metayer
  Memoir of War, by Emmanuel Finkiel
  The Sisters Brothers, by Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain
  Mademoiselle de Joncquieres, by Emmanuel Mouret
  An Impossible Love, by Catherine Corsini, Laurette Polmanss

• Best Costumes

  Anais Romand, Sergio Ballo, Memoir of War
  Pierre-Yves Gayraud, The Emperor of Paris
  Milena Canonero, The Sisters Brothers
  WINNER - Pierre-Jean Larroque, Mademoiselle de Joncquieres
  Anais Romand, One Nation, One King
• Best Editing

  Valerie Deseine, Little Tickles
  Isabelle Devinck, The Trouble With You
  Juliette Welfling, The Sisters Brothers
  Simon Jacquet, Sink or Swim
  WINNER - Yorgos Lamprinos, Custody

• Best Sound

  Antoine-Basile Mercier, David Vranken, Aline Gavroy, Memoir of War
  WINNER - Brigitte Taillandier, Valerie de Loof, Cyril Holts, The Sisters Brothers
  Cedric Delouche, Gwennole le Borgene, Marc Doisne, Sink or Swim
  Yves-Marie Omnes, Antoine Baudouin, Stephane Thiebaut, Guy
  Julien Sicart, Julien Roig, Vincent Verdoux, Custody

• Best Original Score

  Anton Sanko, Amanda
  Camille Bazbaz, The Trouble With You
  Alexandre Desplat, The Sisters Brothers
  WINNER - Vincent Blanchard, Romain Greffe, Guy
  Pascal Sangla, In Safe Hands
  Gregoire Hetzel, An Impossible Love
• Best New Actor

  Anthony Bajon, The Prayer
  Thomas Gioria, Custody
  William Lebghil, The Freshmen
  Karim Leklou, The World Is Yours
  WINNER - Dylan Robert, Sheherazade

• Best New Actress

  Ophelie Bau, Mektoub My Love
  Galatea Bellugi, The Apparition
  Jehnny Beth, An Impossible Love
  Lily-Rose Depp, A Faithful Man
  WINNER - Kenza Fortas, Sheherazade