The French-Argentinian actress won this year’s best actress Palme d’Or for her role in Asghar Farhadi’s The Past (his follow-up to the Oscar-winning A Separation). Bejo was photographed at JW Marriott’s Bulgari Terrace.
Fabrizio MaltesePARIS — The final countdown to the Cesars, France’s biggest film awards, kicked off Friday morning with a breakfast press conference at the famously glitzy Le Fouquet’s restaurant on the Champs-Elysees as the French Academy of Cinema Technical Arts and Sciences unveiled the nominees for the 39th annual honors.
Among the high-profile nominees for the French equivalent of the Oscars were Lea Seydoux, for her role in Cannes Film Festival winner Blue Is the Warmest Color; Berenice Bejo, for her role in The Past, which earned her the best actress honor at Cannes; Roman Polanski; and Mads Mikkelsen.
The best film nominees include Abdellatif Kechiche‘s Blue Is the Warmest Color, Polanski’s Venus in Fur and Asghar Farhadi‘s The Past. The three filmmakers are also nominated in the best director category.
Best foreign film nominees include Woody Allen‘s Blue Jasmine, Quentin Tarantino‘s Django Unchained, Alfonso Cuaron‘s Gravity and Paolo Sorrentino‘s The Great Beauty.
Coming off its Cannes win, lesbian love story/drama Blue was overlooked by the Oscars, but scored eight Cesar nominations, as did Alain Guiraudie‘s drama Stranger by the Lake.
But Guillaume Gallienne‘s comedy Les Garcons et Guillaume, a Table! (Me, Myself and Mum) bested both with 10 nominations. The family comedy from the first-time filmmaker gave a much-needed homegrown boost to the French box office late in 2013, which was mostly dominated by Hollywood blockbusters.
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The name that caused the most buzz in the room on Friday was that of French actress Julie Gayet. The reason was not so much her nomination for her role in political satire Quai d’Orsay, but because of her relationship with president Francois Hollande, which caused him to publicly separate from (former) first lady Valerie Trierweiler this past weekend, before balloting closed for the nominations.
Academy president Alain Terzian announced the first category of Cesar nominees, that of the best female newcomer, at around 10:15 a.m. Paris time. Nominees in the category are Adele Exarchopoulos (Blue Is the Warmest Color), Lou de Laage, Pauline Etienne, Goshifteh Farahni and Marine Vacth (Young & Beautiful).
Nominees for the best male newcomer honor are Pierre Deladonchamps (Stranger by the Lake), Paul Hamy (Suzanne), Paul Bartel (Les Petits Princes), Nemo Schiffman (Elle S’En Va) and Vincent Macaigne (La Fille du 14th Juillet).
The awards will be handed out Feb. 28 in Paris, just two days before the Oscars at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. Cesar-winning actor Francois Cluzet (The Intouchables) will host the ceremony at the Chatelet Theater, with fellow Cesar-winner Cecile de France (Hereafter) serving as mistress of ceremonies.
An honorary Cesar is traditionally handed out to a foreign actor for their body of work. Kevin Costner received last year’s prize, with past honorees including Kate Winslet, Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep. This year’s honoree will be announced next week.
The Cesar ceremony will be broadcast live and for free on Vivendi-owned pay TV channel Canal Plus.
Here is the complete list of Cesar nominees:
Best Film
9 Month Stretch
Me, Myself and Mum
Stranger by the Lake
Jimmy P.
The Past
Venus in Fur
Blue Is the Warmest Color
Best Director
Albert Dupontel for 9 Month Stretch
Guillaume Gallienne for Me, Myself and Mum
Alain Guiraudie for Stranger by the Lake
Arnaud Desplechin for Jimmy P.
Asghar Farhadi for The Past
Roman Polanski for Venus in Fur
Abdellatif Kechiche for Blue Is the Warmest Color
Best Foreign Film
The Broken Circle Breakdown, director Felix van Groeningen
Blancanieves, director Pablo Berger
Blue Jasmine, director Woody Allen
Dead Man Talking, director Patrick Ridremont
Django Unchained, director Quentin Tarantino
La Grande Bellezza, director Paolo Sorrentino
Gravity, director Alfonso Cuaron
Best Actress
Fanny Ardant for Les Beaux Jours
Berenice Bejo for The Past
Catherine Deneuve for Elle S’En Va
Sara Forestier for Suzanne
Sandrine Kiberlain for 9 Month Stretch
Emmanuelle Seigner for Venus in Fur
Lea Seydoux for Blue Is the Warmest Color
Best Actor
Mathieu Amalric for Venus in Fur
Michel Bouquet for Renoir
Albert Dupontel for 9 Month Stretch
Gergory Gadebois for Mon Ame Par Toi Guerie
Guillaume Gallienne for Me, Myself and Mum
Fabrice Luchini for Alceste a Bicyclette
Mads Mikkelsen for Michael Kohlhaas
Best Supporting Actress
Marisa Borini for A Castle in Italy
Francoise Fabian for Me, Myself and Mum
Julie Gayet for Quai d’Orsay
Adele Haenel for Suzanne
Geraldine Pailhas for Young & Beautiful
Best Supporting Actor
Neils Arestrup for Quai d’Orsay
Patrick Chesnais for Les Beaux Jours
Patrick d’Assumcao for Stranger by the Lake
Olivier Gourmet for Grand Central
Francois Damiens for Suzanne
Most Promising Actress (Newcomer)
Lou de Laage for Jappeloup
Pauline Etienne for La Religieuse
Adele Exarchopoulos for Blue Is the Warmest Color
Goshifteh Farahni for Syngue Sabour – Pierre de Patience
Marine Vacth for Young & Beautiful
Most Promising Actor (Newcomer)
Paul Bartel for Les Petits Princes
Pierre Deladonchamps for Stranger by the Lake
Paul Hamy for Suzanne
Vincent Macaigne for La Fille du 14 Juillet
Nemo Schiffman for Elle S’En Va
Best Original Screenplay
Albert Dupontel for 9 Month Stretch
Philippe Le Guay for Alceste a Bicyclette
Alain Guiraudie for Stranger by the Lake
Asghar Farhadi for The Past
Katelle Quillevere and Mariette Desert for Suzanne
Best Adapted Screenplay
Guillaume Gallienne for Me, Myself and Mum
Arnaud Desplechin for Jimmy P.
Antonin Baudry, Christophe Blain and Bertrand Tavernier for Quai d’Orsay
David Ives and Roman Polanski for Venus in Fur
Abdellatif Kechiche and Ghalya Lacroix for Blue Is the Warmest Color
Best Original Music
Jorge Arriagada for Alceste a Bicyclette
Loik Dury and Christophe “Disco” Minck for Chinese Puzzle
Etienne Charry for L’Ecume des Jours
Martin Wheeler for Michael Kohlhaas
Alexandre Desplat for Venus in Fur
Best Sound
Marc-Antoine Beldent, Loic Prian and Olivier Do Huu for Me, Myself and Mum
Philippe Grivel and Nathalie Vidal for Stranger by the Lake
Jean-Pierre Duret, Jean Mallet and Melissa Petitjean for Michael Kohlhaas
Lucien Balibar, Nadine Muse and Cyril Holtz for Venus in Fur
Jerome Chenevoy, Fabien Pochet and Jean-Paul Hurier for Blue Is the Warmest Color
Best Cinematography
Thomas Hardmeier for The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet
Claire Mathon for Stranger by the Lake
Jeanne Lapoirie for Michael Kohlhaas
Mark Ping Bing Lee for Renoir
Sofian el Fani for Blue Is the Warmest Color
Best Editing
Christophe Pinel for9 Month Stretch
Valerie Deseine for Me, Myself and Mum
Jean-Christophe Hym for Stranger by the Lake
Juliette Welfling for The Past
Camille Toubkis, Albertine Lastera and Jean-Marie Langelle for Blue Is the Warmest Color
Best Costume
Florence Fontaine for L’Ecume des Jours
Madeline Fontaine for The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet
Olivier Beriot for Me, Myself and Mum
Anina Diener for Michael Kohlhaas
Pascaline Chavanne for Renoir
Best Production Design (Décor)
Stephane Rozenbaum for L’Ecume des Jours
Aline Bonetto for The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet
Sylive Olive for Me, Myself and Mum
Yan Arlaud for Michael Kohlhaas
Benoit Barouh for Renoir
Best Documentary
Comment J’ai Deteste les Maths, director Olivier Peyon
Le Dernier des Injustes, director Claude Lanzmann
Il Etait une Foret, director Luc Jacquet
La Maison de la Raido, director Nicolas Philibert
Sur le Chemin de l’Ecole, director Pascal Plisson
Best First Film
La Bataille de Solferino, director Justine Triet
La Cage Doree, director Ruben Alves
En Solitaire, director Christophe Offenstein
La Fille du 14 Julliet, director Antonin Peretjatko
Me, Myself and Mum, director Guillaume Gallienne
Best Short Film
Avant Que de Tout Perdre, director Xavier Legrand
Bambi, director Sebastien Lifshitz
La Fugue, director Jean-Bernard Marlin
Les Lezards, director Vincent Mariette
Marseille la Nuit, director Marie Monge
Best Animated Feature Film
Ayay de Yopougon, directors Marguerite Aboute and Clement Oubrerie
Loulou l’Incroyable Secret, director Eric Omond
My Mommy is in America and She Met Buffalo Bill, directors Marc Boreal and Thibaut Chatel
Best Animated Short Film
Lettres de Femmes, director Augusto Zanovello
Mademoiselle Kiki et les Montparnos, director Amelie Harrault
