Xavier Giannoli’s Marguerite and Deniz Gamze Erguven’s Mustang took four awards apiece to top the gong-count at France’s César awards on the weekend.
The top honour went to Philippe Faucon’s Fatima (pictured, top), which premiered in last year’s Directors Fortnight at Cannes. Faucon also took the Adapted Screenplay award, while Zita Hanrot took a Newcomer gong for her performance as Nesrine. Surprisingly, Cannes’ Palme d’Or winner Dheepan, currently screening here in the Alliance Française French Film Festival (AFFFF), turned none of its nine nominations into gongs.
Marguerite, also here in the AFFFF, won Césars for Best Actress (Catherine Frot), Costumes, Set Decoration, and Sound.
Other AFFFF titles winning Césars included Valley of Love (Cinematography), although both its leads Gerard Depardieu and Isabelle Huppert missed out. L’Hermine (Courted) gave Sidse Babett Knudsen a Supporting Actress win. Knudsen’s best known internationally for her turn as the feisty Danish PM in Borgen.
Courted, for which Knudsen (right) won Supporting Actress
Almost a year to the day since it flew off with the Best Film Oscar, Alejandro Inarritu’s Birdman took the Foreign Film César.
The 2016 Alliance Française French Film Festival will play in 12 cities, and is currently screening in Auckland and Wellington.
The César awards were presented 27 Febraury (NZ time). The winners were:
BEST FILM
Fatima, dir: Philippe Faucon
BEST ACTOR
Vincent Lindon, La Loi Du Marché
BEST DIRECTOR
Arnaud Desplechin, My Golden Days
BEST ACTRESS
Catherine Frot, Marguerite
BEST FOREIGN FILM
Birdman, dir: Alejandro G Inarritu
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Alice Winocour, Mustang
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Benoit Magimel, La Tête Haute
BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC
Warren Ellis, Mustang
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Philippe Faucon, Fatima
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Sidse Babett Knudsen, L’Hermine
BEST SET DECORATION
Martin Kurel, Marguerite
BEST FIRST FILM
Mustang, dir: Deniz Gamze Erguven
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Tomorrow, dirs: Cyril Dion, Mélanie Laurent
BEST EDITING
Mathilde Van De Moortel, Mustang
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Christophe Offenstein, Valley Of Love
BEST SOUND
François Musy and Gabriel Hafner, Marguerite
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Le Petit Prince, dir: Mark Osborne
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Le Repas Dominical, dir: Céline Devaux
BEST NEWCOMER (MALE)
Rod Paradot, La Tête Haute
BEST COSTUMES
Pierre-Jean Larroque, Marguerite
BEST SHORT FILM
La Contre Allée, dir: Cécile Ducrocq
BEST NEWCOMER (FEMALE)
Zita Hanrot, Fatima
