César Awards

César Awards
The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Ministry of Culture. The nationally televised award ceremony is held in Paris each year in February. The exact location has changed over the years (in the Théâtre du Châtelet from 2002 to 2016). It is an initiative of the , which was founded in 1975.
The César Award is considered the highest film honor in France, the French film industry's equivalent to the Molière Award for theatre, and the Victoires de la Musique for music. In cinema, it is the French equivalent to the Academy Award.
The award was created by Georges Cravenne, who was also the creator of the Molière Award for theatre. The name of the award comes from the sculptor César Baldaccini (1921–1998) who designed it.
The 48th César Awards ceremony took place on 24 February 2023. The Night of the 12th, directed by Dominik Moll, won the award for Best Film.
History
In 1974, Georges Cravenne founded the Academy of Arts and Techniques of Cinema that was, from the outset, intended to reward the achievements and the most remarkable film artwork, to have a French equivalent to the American Oscars. The first César Awards – also known as the "Night of Caesar" – were held on 3 April 1976 under the chairmanship of Jean Gabin who watched the ceremony from the front row seated in a wheelchair a few months before his death. The name of the award comes from the sculptor César, designer of the trophy awarded to the winners in each category. It is also an homage to the Raimu, the great French actor and performer of Marseille trilogy of Marcel Pagnol, in which Raimu played the character of César.
The César Awards replaced the , which was awarded from 1955 to 1975. Other prizes had been awarded to French cinema in the past. From 1934 to 1986, the , established by film pioneer Louis Lumière, was given to one film a year. In the 1950s, the was awarded each June. Lacking popular enthusiasm compared to the Étoile de cristal, this award was discontinued after 1964.
At the inaugural César Awards, 13 awards were distributed. Today, there are 22 (in nine subcategories). Categories added in recent years include Most Promising Actor/Actress (Meilleur espoir), Best Documentary (Meilleur documentaire) and Best Animated Film (Meilleur film d'animation), while awards honoring the best film poster and best producer have been dropped, as they are now given at a sister ceremony, the .
Beginning with the 43rd César ceremony in 2018, a new special award, the César du public, is given to the French film with the most box office receipts during the previous year and the beginning of the current year. This award responds to the need to reward French comedy films, which remain the most popular genre in France.
During the 45th ceremony in 2020, Adèle Haenel, a French actress playing the main character in Portrait of a Lady on Fire, left the room when Roman Polanski's award for best director was announced in protest against the fact that notable sexual abusers in the film industry can receive awards when their victims are reduced to silence. Polanski was convicted of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old in California in 1978, and has additionally been accused of other incidents of rape.
The statue
The César statues are compressed sculptures of metal objects, designed in 1975 by the sculptor César Baldaccini, a friend of Georges Cravenne who gave them their name as a wink to the Oscars, the sound of the name being close to the film César by Pagnol. These forged pieces are made from polished natural bronze, unlike the Oscars which are plated in gold. The latter directly inspired the first AATC trophy in 1976, which was a reel of film encircling a silhouette. In 1977, before a mixed reception of actors, Baldaccini unveiled the current 8 by 8 cm compression, weighing 3.6 kg and cast in the Bocquel foundry in Normandy. The cost of a César has not been officially revealed, but is estimated at around 1,500 euros.
Voting process
Voting for César Awards is conducted through two ballots by mail: the first to establish nominations per category (three to five, depending on the discipline), and the second to decide the winner.
Voters are professionals in the field, numbering about 4,000, divided into 12 colleges (actors, directors, writers, technicians, producers, distributors and international vendors, operators, agents artistic, technical industries, casting directors, press officers and members associates). The criteria for voting are: demonstrate a relatively consistent career in film and get a double sponsorship in the Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma. Nominees or winners of the previous editions are exempt from these formalities.
To aid voters, the Académie identifies each year films released in France and provides a guide to the works and eligible professionals. A DVD set of French or primarily French productions produced during the year is sent in December with the catalog of films to the electors. After the nominations are revealed, at the end of January, special screenings of the nominated films are shown at the Le Balzac cinema in Paris, near the Champs-Élysées. Each year, a special lunch for nominees is held at the famous Fouquet's restaurant on the Champs-Élysées, a few weeks before the ceremony.
Categories
Merit awards
Best Film
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Most Promising Actor
Most Promising Actress
Best Adaptation
Best Original Screenplay
Best First Feature Film
Best Foreign Film
Best Animated Film
Best Documentary Film
Best Short Film
Best Animated Short Film
Best Cinematography
Best Costume Design
Best Editing
Best Music Written for a Film
Best Production Design
Best Sound
Special awards
Honorary Award – since 1976
César des Césars – between 1985 and 1995
Prix Daniel Toscan du Plantier – since 2008
Trophée César & Techniques – since 2011
Médaille d'Or – only in 2015
César & Techniques Special Award – only between 2015 and 2017
César & Techniques Innovation Award – since 2018
César du public – since 2018
Retired awards
Best Film from the European Union (2002–2004)
Best Poster (1986–1990)
Best Producer (1995–1996)
Best Writing (Adaptation or Original) (1976–2005)
Best French Language Film (1984–1986)
Best Documentary Short (1977–1991)
Best Fiction Short (1977–1991)
Best Animated Short (1977–1990)
Ceremonies
Overall
Films that received five or more César Awards
Films that received 10 or more César Award nominations
Directors with two or more awards
Actors with 7 or more nominations
"Big Five" winners and nominees
Winners
The Last Metro (1980)
Best Film: François Truffaut
Best Director: François Truffaut
Best Actor: Gérard Depardieu
Best Actress: Catherine Deneuve
Best Writing: Suzanne Schiffman and François Truffaut
Amour (2013)
Best Film: Michael Haneke & Margaret Ménégoz
Best Director: Michael Haneke
Best Actor: Jean-Louis Trintignant
Best Actress: Emmanuelle Riva
Best Writing: Michael Haneke
Nominees
Four awards won
Smoking/No Smoking (1993): Best Actress (Sabine Azéma)
Too Beautiful for You (1989): Best Actor (Gérard Depardieu)
Three awards won
Cyrano de Bergerac (1990): Best Actress (Anne Brochet) and Writing (Jean-Claude Carrière and Jean-Paul Rappeneau)
Same Old Song (1997): Best Actress (Sabine Azéma) and Director (Alain Resnais)
The Artist (2011): Best Actor (Jean Dujardin) and Writing (Michel Hazanavicius)
Custody (2017): Best Actor (Denis Ménochet) and Director (Xavier Legrand)
Most acting wins and nominations for a film
See also
Academy Awards
British Academy Film Awards
Lumières Award
Louis Delluc Prize
Magritte Award
References
External links
Official website
French film awards
Awards established in 1976
1976 establishments in France
Recurring events established in 1976
Annual events in France