Several titles from last November's French Film Festival UK figure in the nominations for the French Oscars announced earlier today (31 January), notably ten nods for Me, Myself And Mum (Les Garçons Et Gullaume à Table) in which actor Guillaume Gallienne with great dexterity played himself and his mother in a crowd-pleasing comedy that proved a surprise hit at the box office and received critical acclaim. It was cited in the best film category as well as best first film among several categories and Gallienne also received a best actor citation.
The Césars, France’s biggest film awards and the equivalent of the Oscars on their home turf, also featured such expected nominees such as Lea Seydoux, for her role in Cannes Film Festival winner Blue Is the Warmest Colour, Berenice Bejo, as the exasperated mother in The Past that already earned her the best actress honour at Cannes.
The best film nominees include Abdellatif Kechiche (for Blue Is The Warmest Colour), Roman Polanski's Venus In Fur and Asghar Farhadi's The Past. These three filmmakers are also nominated in the best director category.
Julie Gayet, now better known for her relationship with President François Hollande, was nominated for her performance in Betrand Tavernier's razor-sharp political satire Quai d'Orsay, just a tad too close to home for comfort.
Among the best female newcomer contenders are Adele Exarchopoulos (Blue Is The Warmest Colour), and Marine Vacth (Young & Beautiful) while among the names for the best male newcomer honour are Pierre Deladonchamps in the sexually gay-explicit Stranger by the Lake and Vincent Macaigne (La Fille Du 14th Juillet).
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.
Another hit of the French Film Festival Emmanuelle Bercot's On My Way (Elle s'en va) scored a best actress nod for Catherine Deneuve, up against Fanny Ardant, Béjo, Sara Forrestier, Seydoux and Emmanuelle Seigner.
The awards will be bestowed at the Chatelet Theatre in Paris, on 28 February just two days before the Oscars. Francois Cluzet (The Intouchables) and Cecile de France will host the ceremony.
The French always hand out a special Cesar to a foreign actor for their body of work. Kevin Costner received last year’s prize, with others in the roll call including Kate Winslet, Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep. This year’s recipient will be announced next week.
Meanwhile the nominees are:-
Best Film
- 9 Month Stretch
- Me, Myself And Mum
- Stranger By The Lake
- Jimmy P.
- The Past
- Venus In Fur
- Blue Is The Warmest Colour
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 Colour
Best Foreign Film
- Alabama Monroe, director Felix Van Groeningen
- Blancanieves, director Pablo Berger
- Blue Jasmine, director Woody Allen
- Dead Man Talking, director Patrick Ridremont
- Django Unchained, director Quentin Tarantino
- The Great Beauty, 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 Colour
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, Julie Peyr, and Kent Jones 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 Colour
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, Cyril Holtz for Venus In Fur
- Jerome Chenevoy, Fabien Pochet and Jean-Paul Hurier for Blue Is The Warmest Colour
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 Colour
Best Editing
- Christophe Pinel for 9 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 Colour
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 AbouteandClement 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
