Eye For Film >> News >> Huppert, Dolan and Daniel Blake score at Césars

Huppert, Dolan and Daniel Blake score at Césars

First film Divines takes three awards

by Richard Mowe

Isabelle Huppert with her best actress César for Elle: 'Perhaps I got noticed because I am practically in every frame' Photo: Academie des Césars

Oscar nominee Isabelle Huppert won best actress award at the 42nd edition of the French Oscars, the Césars in Paris last night (February 24), 21 years after she won the award previously for Claude Chabrol’s La Cérémonie. Paul Verhoeven’s film was named best picture. Elle was nominated in 11 categories.

Verhoeven paid tribute to Huppert, saying she had brought an “extra dimension to the role” which he had not expected when they started work. Huppert, looking radiant in an emerald green evening gown, suggested that she had got noticed in the film “because I am practically in every frame”.

The youthful Quebec film-maker Xavier Dolan was a surprise recipient of the best director and editing awards for It’s Only The End Of The World which also brought Gaspard Ulliel a best actor prize. Dolan accepted his award as well because the actor was detained in Prague where he is shooting The Death And Life Of John F Donovan.

The UK film industry scored with a win for Ken Loach's I, Daniel Blake in the best foreign film category.

The much-touted and admired Divines by first time director Houda Benyamina had a tally of best first film, best actress in a supporting role for Déborah Lukumuena and best female newcomer for Oulaya Amamra.

There was a poignant moment when the award for best original screenplay was given to The Aquatic Effect by Solveig Anspach and Jean-Luc Gaget. Anspach died in 2015 aged 54 after a battle with cancer. The Iceland-born writer-director was a graduate of La Femis in Paris and Gaget received the prize without his much-loved collaborator, whose daughter was at the ceremony.

The Oscar nominated animation film My Life As A Courgette won two awards - for adapted screenplay by Celine Sciamma and for best animation for its director Claude Barras.

Best film

WINNER: Elle - Paul Verhoeven
Divines - Houda Benyamina
Frantz - François Ozon
The Innocents (Les Innocentes) - Anne Fontaine
Slack Bay (Ma Loute) - Bruno Dumont
From The Land Of The Moon (Mal De Pierres) - Nicole Garcia
Victoria - Justine Triet

Best director

WINNER: Xavier Dolan - It's Only The End Of The World (Juste La Fin Du Monde)
Houda Benyamina - Divines
Paul Verhoeven - Elle
François Ozon - Frantz
Anne Fontaine - The Innocents (Les Innocentes)
Bruno Dumont - Slack Bay (Ma Loute)
Nicole Garcia - From The Land Of The Moon (Mal De Pierres)

Best original screenplay

WINNER: Solveig Anspach, Jean-Luc Gaget for The Aquatic Effect
Romain Compingt, Houda Benyamina and Malik Rumeau for Divines
Sabrina Karine, Alice Vial, Pascal Bonitzer and Anne Fontaine for The Innocents
Bruno Dumont for Slack Bay
Justine Triet for Victoria

Best adapted screenplay

WINNER: Celine Sciamma for My Life As A Courgette
David Birke for Elle
Bosschem, Emmanuelle Bercot for 150 Milligrams
Francois Ozon for Frantz
Garcia, Jacquest Fieschi for From The Land Of The Moon
Katell Quillevere, Gille Taurand for Heal The Living

Best actress

WINNER: Isabelle Huppert - Elle
Judith Chemla - A Woman's Life (Une Vie)
Marion Cotillard - From The Land Of The Moon (Mal De Pierres)
Virgine Efira - Victoria
Marina Foïs - Irréprochable
Sidse Babett Knudsen - 150 Milligrams (La Fille De Brest)
Soko - The Dancer (La Danseuse)

Best actor

WINNER: Gaspard Uliel - It's Only The End Of The World (Juste La Fin Du Monde)
François Cluzet - Irreplaceable (Médecin De Campagne)
Pierre Deladomchamps - A Kid (Le Fils De Jean)
Nicolas Duvauchelle - A Decent Man (Je Ne Suis Pas Un Salaud)
Fabrice Luchini - Slack Bay (Ma Loute)
Pierre Niney - Frantz
Omar Sy - Chocolat

Best female newcomer

WINNER: Oulaya Amamra - Divines
Paula Beer - Frantz
Lily-Rose Depp - The Dancer (La Danseuse)
Noémie Merlant - Heaven Will Wait (Le Ciel Attendra)
Raph - Slack Bay (Ma Loute)

Best male newcomer

WINNER: Niels Schneider - Dark Inclusion (Diamant Noir)
Corentin Fila - Being 17 (Quand On A 17 Ans)
Damien Bonnard - Staying Vertical (Rester Vertical)
Karey Mottet Klein - Being 17 (Quand On A 17 Ans)
Jonas Bloquet - Elle

Best supporting actor

WINNER: James Thierrée - Chocolat
Vincent Lacoste - Victoria
Melvil Poupaud - Victoria
Laurent Lafitte - Elle
Gabriel Arcand - A Kid (Le Fils De Jean)
Vincent Cassel - It's Only The End Of The World (Juste La Fin Du Monde)

Best supporting actress

WINNER: Déborah Lukumuena - Divines
Nathalie Baye - It's Only The End Of The World (Juste La Fin Du Monde)
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi - Slack Bay (Ma Loute)
Anne Consigny - Elle
Mélanie Thierry - The Dancer (La Danseuse)

Best animation feature

WINNER: My Life As A Courgette (Ma Vie De Courgette) - Claude Barras
The Girl Without Hands (La Jeune Fille Sans Mains) - Sébastien Laudenbach
The Red Turtle (La Tortue Rouge) - Michael Dudok de Wik

Best first film

WINNER: Divines - Houda Benyamina
Cigarettes Et Chocolat Chaud - Sophie Reine
The Dancer (La Danseuse) - Stéphanie di Giusto
Dark Inclusion (Diamant Noir) - Arthur Harari
Rosalie Blum - Julien Rappeneau

Best documentary

WINNER: Thanks Boss! (Merci Patron!) - François Rufin
Latest News From The Cosmos (Dernières Nouvelles Du Cosmos) - Julie Bertucelli
Fire At Sea (Fuocammare, Par-delà Lampedusa) - Gianfranco Rosi
Swagger - Olivier Babinet
A Journey Through French Cinema - Bertrand Tavernier

Best foreign film

WINNER:I, Daniel Blake by Ken Loach (UK)
Aquarius by Kleber Mendonca Filho (Portugal)

Graduation

The Unknown Girl by The Dardenne Brothers (Belgium)
Manchester by the Sea by Kenneth Lonergan (US)
Toni Erdmann by Maren Ade (Germany)

Best original score

WINNER: Ibrahim Maalouf for In the Forests of Siberia
Gabriel Yared for Chocolat
Anne Dudley for Elle
Philippe Romi for Frantz
Sophie Hunger for My Life as a Courgette

Best sound

WINNER: Marc Engles, Fred Demolder, Sylvain Rety, Jean-Paul Hurier for The Odyssey
Brigitte Taillandier, Vincent Guillon, Stephane Thiebaut for Chocolat
Jean-Paul Mugel, Alexis Place, Cyril Holtz, Damie Lazzerini for Elle
Martin Boissau, Benoit Gargonne, Jean-Paul Hurier for Frantz
Jean-Pirre Duret, Sylvain Malbrant, Jean-Pierre Laforce for From The Land Of The Moon

Best editing