César Awards Give Best Film To “Les Misérables”

Yesterday, the César Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars, were handed out. Taking the top prize, in somewhat of a surprise, was Les Misérables from Ladj Ly. Clearly a top contender for the award, it faced stiff competition from An Officer and a Spy, as well as especially from Portrait of a Lady on Fire. However, France’s submission to the Academy Awards had that upper hand, and in the end, it led the way here.

Of course, what was most noteworthy was actress and nominee Adèle Haenel (from Portrait of a Lady on Fire) walked out of the ceremony when it was announced that Roman Polanski had won the Best Director prize for An Officer and a Spy. Her protest made waves throughout the industry, and even thought Polanski was not in attendance, it was a powerful statement, to be sure…

Here now are the Cesar Award results:

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 *WINNER
“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” *WINNER
Ladj Ly, “Les Miserables”
Céline Sciamma, “Portrait Of A Lady On Fire”
Arnaud Desplechin, “Oh Mercy”

Best Actress

Anais Demoustier, “Alice and The Mayor” *WINNER
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”
Reda Kateb, “The Specials”
Melvil Poupaud, “By The Grace of God”
Roschdy Zem, “Oh Mercy” *WINNER

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 *WINNER
“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 *WINNER
“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 *WINNER

Best Original Screenplay

Nicolas Bedos, “La Belle Epoque” *WINNER
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” *WINNER
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” *WINNER
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” *WINNER
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”
 *WINNER
Nina Meurisse, “Camille”
Mama Sané, “Atlantics”

Best Male Newcomer

Anthony Bajon, “Au Nom de la Terre”
Benjamin Lesieur, “The Specials”
Alexis Manenti, “Les Misérables”
 *WINNER
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 *WINNER

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” *WINNER

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” *WINNER
Irina Lubtchansky “Oh Mercy”

Best Costumes

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

Best Production Design

STÉPHANE ROZENBAUM – LA BELLE ÉPOQUE *WINNER
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 *WINNER
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 *WINNER
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

Congrats to all of the winners!