France’s Cesar Awards Nominations Unveiled

The Cesar Awards, France’s top film honors, unveiled nominations on Wednesday, with Emmanuel Mouret’s Love Affairs (The Things We Say, The Things We Do) leading the pack with 13 nominations.

The film, which features an ensemble cast and is made of a series of romantic tales, was part of the Cannes 2020 official selection. Among others, it earned noms for best film and director, along with best acting nods for Camelia Jordana and Niels Schneider.

Francois Ozon’s Summer of 85 and Bye Bye Morons, directed by Albert Dupontel, earned 12 Cesar nods each.

France’s Oscar contender, Two of Us, got a Cesar boost when the film’s two leads, Martine Chevallier and Barbara Sukowa were both nominated in the best actress category.  Director Filippo Meneghetti received a Cesar nomination for best first film and one in the best screenplay category, together with  co-screenwriter Malysone Bovorashy. The drama, about two older women who have secretly been lovers for decades, was picked as one of the 15 shortlisted films in the running for the 2021 Academy Award as Best International Feature Film.

Fathia Youssouf, whose debut in Maïmouna Doucouré’s Cuties, became a cause célèbre after it was targetted by online trolls, picked up her first Cesar nomination, in the best newcomer category, with Doucouré nominated for best first film.

The 46th Cesar Awards ceremony, presented by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma, will take place on March 12. Marina Fois will host the show.

Last year, Les Misérables, Ladj Ly’s look at life in the Parisian banlieues, won the Cesar for best film, beating out all comers, including Roman Polanski’s An Officer and a Spy. Les Misérables‘ Alexis Manenti, who plays a racist cop, picked up the best male newcomer Cesar, while the pic also received the public Cesar, voted on by the French film-going audience, and a best editing honor for Flora Volpelière.

But the French Film Academy ignored a street full of protesters and a furious army of online critics to give Polanski its top directing honor. The controversial filmmaker won the best directing Cesar for An Officer and a Spy. Polanski and co-writer Robert Harris also won the best-adapted screenplay prize, while the film’s Pascaline Chavanne took the Cesar for best costume design.

Here’s the full list of Cesar 2021 nominations in the major categories: 

BEST FILM

Adieu Les Cons, dir: Albert Dupontel

Adolescentes, dir: Sébastien Lifshitz

Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes, dir: Caroline Vignal

Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait, dir: Emmanuel Mouret

Summer Of 85, dir: François Ozon

BEST DIRECTOR

Albert Dupontel, Adieu Les Cons

Maîwenn, DNA

Sébastien Lifshitz, Adolescentes

Emmanuel Mouret, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

François Ozon, Summer Of 85

BEST ACTRESS

Laure Calamy, Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes

Martine Chevallier, Two Of Us

Virginie Efira, Adieu Les Cons

Camélia Jordana, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Barbara Sukowa, Two Of Us

BEST ACTOR

Sami Bouajila, Un Fils

Jonathan Cohen, Enorme

Albert Dupontel, Adieu Les Cons

Niels Schneider, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Lambert Wilson, De Gaulle

BEST FOREIGN FILM

1917, dir: Sam Mendes

Corpus Christi, dir: Jan Komasa

Dark Waters, dir: Todd Haynes

Another Round, dir: Thomas Vinterberg

The August Virgin, dir: Jonas Trueba

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Fanny Ardant, DNA

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Summer Of 85

Emilie Dequenne, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Noémie Lvovsky, La Bonne Epouse

Yolande Moreau, La Bonne Epouse

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Edouard Baer, La Bonne Epouse

Louis Garrel, DNA

Benjamin Lavernhe, Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes

Vincent Macaigne, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Nicolas Mairé, Adieu Les Cons

BEST FEMALE NEWCOMER

Mélissa Guers, La Fille Au Bracelet

India Hair, Poissonsexe

Julia Piaton, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Camille Rutherford, Felicità

Fathia Youssouf, Cuties

BEST MALE NEWCOMER

Guang Huo, La Nuit Venue

Félix Lefebvre, Summer Of 85

Benjamin Voisin, Summer Of 85

Alexandre Wetter, Miss

Jean-Pascal Zadi, Tout Simplement Noir

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Albert Dupontel, Adieu Les Cons

Caroline Vignal, Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes

Emmanuel Mouret, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Filippo Meneghetti and Malysone Bovorashy, Two Of Us

Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kerven, Effacer L’Historique

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Olivier Assayas, Wasp Network

Hannelore Cayre and Jean-Paul Salomé, La Daronne

François Ozon, Summer Of 85

Stéphanie Demoustier, La Fille Au Bracelet

Eric Barbier, Petit Pays

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Alexis Kavyrchine, Adieu Les Cons

Antoine Parouty and Paul Guilhaume, Adolescentes

Simon Beaufils, Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes

Laurent Desmet, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Hichame Alaouié, Summer Of 85

BEST EDITING

Christophe Pinel, Adieu Les Cons

Tina Baz, Adolescentes

Annette Dutertre, Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes

Marital Salomon, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Laure Gardette, Summer Of 85

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Mimi Lempicka, Adieu Les Cons

Madeline Fontaine, La Bonne Epouse

Hélène Davoudian, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Anaïs Romand and Sergio Ballo, De Gaulle

Pascaline Chavanne, Summer Of 85

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Carlos Conti, Adieu Les Cons

Thierry François, La Bonne Epouse

David Faivre, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Nicolas De Boiscuillé, De Gaulle

Benoît Barouh, Summer Of 85

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Calamity, a Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary, dir: Rémi Chayé

Josep, dir: Aurel

Little Vampire, dir: Joann Sfar

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Adolescentes, dir: Sébastien Lifshitz

La Cravate, dir: Etienne Chaillou and Mathias Théry

Cyrille Agriculteur, 30 Ans, 20 Vaches, Du Lait, Du Beurre, Des Dettes, dir: Rodolphe Marconi

Histoire D’Un Regard, dir: Mariana Otero

Un Pays Qui Se Tient Sage, dir: David Du Fresne

BEST FIRST FILM

Two Of Us, dir: Filippo Meneghetti

Garçon Chiffon, dir: Nicolas Maury

Cuties, dir: Maïmouna Doucouré

Tout Simplement Noir, dir: Jean-Pascal Zadi

Un Divan A Tunis, dir: Manele Labidi

BEST SCORE

Christophe Julien, Adieu Les Cons

Stephen Warbeck, DNA

Mateï Bratescot, Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes

Jean-Benoït Dunckel, Summer Of 85

Rone, La Nuit Venue