The world of cinema is getting ready to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Césars. On February 28th, filmmakers, actors, technicians, and prominent figures from the industry are invited to the Olympia to watch the prestigious ceremony, which will reward the most celebrated films of 2024 and the talents behind them. The list of nominees has just been announced and raises several points.
First, like every year, it brings several disappointments: notably, there are only very few female directors – Louise Courvoisier is the only woman among the contenders for the Best...r scenario, and none are named in the Best Film or Best Director categories – and it’s unfortunate to see several vibrant feature films, also helmed by women, being overlooked. Say goodbye to Niki by Céline Salette or The Womens at the Balcony by Noémie Merlant, which had indeed won over the critics.
Despite this, the selection reflects the extraordinary cinematic year that was 2024, both in terms of auteur films (Twenty Gods, The Story of Souleymane) and more popular yet equally ambitious productions (The Count of Monte Cristo, Crazy Love), not to mention Emilia Perez, the virtuous musical comedy by Jacques Audiard that broke through across the Atlantic to nab 13 Oscar nominations, trimmed down to 12 at the Césars. Here in the editorial team, we already have our little favorites, be they established actors or newcomers who impressed us!“Ah, cult classics that unleash a torrent of uncontrollable emotions within us... Here’s the ideal list of César winners if Le Bonbon manipulated the votes.
Best Actress
The nominees are: Adèle Exarchopoulos in L’Amour ouf; Karla Sofia Gascon in Emilia Perez; Hafsia Herzi in Borgo; Zoe Saldana in Emilia Perez; Hélène Vincent in Quand vient l’automne.
Our favorite: Hafsia Herzi in Borgo.
Why? For the naturalness of her performance that allowed her to embody a prison matron caught in the nets of the Corsican mob. Louis Memmi, who plays the young inmate she takes under her wing, definitely deserves a nomination for the male revelations.
```htmlSee this post on InstagramCould Pierre Niney win again? The actor, who won the César for Best Actor in 2015 for his striking portrayal of Yves Saint Laurent, has once again proven he can play anything by brilliantly embodying the alter-egos of Edmond Dantès, from a 20-year-old sailor to an English lord and a billionaire thirsting for revenge.
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Best Supporting ActressNominated are: Élodie Bouchez in Crazy Love; Anaïs Demoustier in The Count of Monte Cristo; Catherine Frot in Mercy; Nina Meurisse in The Story of Souleymane; Sarah Suco in In Fanfare.
Our favorite: Anaïs Demoustier in The Count of Monte Cristo.
Sweet and sunny, Anaïs Demoustier invested herself just as much as her co-star to embody the future bride of Edmond Dantès, condemned to live her life without sharing it with her first love. This would be her second César in the same category, following her remarkable performance in Alice and the Mayor (2020).
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Best Supporting ActorNominated: David Ayala in Miséricorde; Bastien Bouillon in The Count of Monte Cristo; Alain Chabat in L’Amour Ouf; Jacques Develay in Miséricorde; Laurent Lafitte in The Count of Monte Cristo.
Our favorite: Alain Chabat in L'Amour Ouf.
Because he touched our hearts in his role as a loving family man, understanding and tenderly funny. And for his chemistry with Adèle Exarchopoulos, pure and beautiful, confirmed by various interviews that later revealed these two shared a true bond behind the camera.
See this post on InstagramWith dizzying fake Louboutins on her feet, decked out to the extreme and dreams bursting in her head, Malou Khezibi fully immersed herself in the role of Liane, a young adult on the path to fame. With a tough exterior that hides a much more vulnerable side, this colorful character – and outspoken diva – brilliantly highlights the hypersexualization of women in the reality TV scene.
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Best Male RevelationNominees: Abou Sangaré in The Story of Souleymane; Adam Bessa in The Ghosts; Malik Frikah in Crazy Love; Félix Kysyl in Mercy; Pierre Lottin in In Fanfare.
Our favorite: Abou Sangaré in The Story of Souleymane.
Surely the most obvious César to award, despite the excellent competition Abou Sangaré faces. The young Guinean who settled in Amiens dazzled the Cannes Film Festival and then the audience by portraying a bike delivery guy on a quest for a residency permit, a situation close to his own, as he was under an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF) during the filming, before being regularized in January 2025.
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Best AchievementNominated: Gilles Lellouche for L’Amour ouf; Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière for Le Comte de Monte-Cristo; Jacques Audiard for Emilia Perez; Boris Lojkine for L’histoire de Souleymane; Alain Guiraudie for Miséricorde.
Our favorite: Jacques Audiard for Emilia Perez.
Jacques Audiard's musical is currently facing backlash from Mexican audiences following its release in the country, deemed at times caricatural for transgender people and at other times disconnected from the reality of Mexican society. On our scale, we want to recognize the virtuosity of the staging, the direction of the four lead actresses, who are brilliant, and the boldness of delivering a social and political drama driven by music.
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Best FilmNominated: The Count of Monte Cristo ; Emilia Perez ; In Fanfare ; The Story of Souleymane ; Mercy.
Our favorite: The Story of Souleymane, by Boris Lojkine.
Wonderfully performed, as mentioned, The Story of Souleymane is essentially a public utility film, meant to be shown in schools at a time when the far-right stigmatizes and discriminates against people in irregular situations in France. Here is, for the most part, their reality: hours of underpaid work, precarious housing, a life lived in urgency. Souleymane's interview at Ofpra (French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons) will remain one of the most heartbreaking scenes of our film year. We even almost awarded the Best...an actress in a supporting role Nina Meurisse, who plays a public servant balancing between strictness and humanity.
See this post on InstagramNo need to add more. We would have loved to reward at least once In Fanfare, which we adored, but between this social comedy about brotherhood and this breathless thriller on the reality of asylum seekers, our hearts have decided.
Je sors de l’Histoire de Souleymane et wow, filmer de manière aussi sincère la vie d’un livreur qui veut juste vivre mieux, montrer sans artifices comment un sans papier peut être invisibilisé, méprisé, créer des scènes de tension et de joie sur des détails c’est bouleversant,… pic.twitter.com/99ZfNfuQ6D
— Grim 🐟 (@Grimkujow_) October 17, 2024
Best Foreign FilmThe nominees: Anora by Sean Baker ; The Seeds of the Wild Fig Tree by Mohammad Rassoulof ; The Apprentice by Ali Abbasi ; The Substance by Coralie Fargeat ; The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer.
Our favorite: The Substance, by Coralie Fargeat.
Monstrously gory, firmly feminist, and wildly unique, The Substance both captivated us and made us feel a bit queasy. But because Coralie Fargeat provided us with an absolutely mind-bending and unforgettable cinematic experience, for the comeback of Demi Moore and all those women pushed aside at 40, she deserves the Palme d'Or of Anora, and maybe even two times over!
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Best First FilmThe nominees: Diamant brut directed by Agathe Riedinger ; Les Fantômes directed by Jonathan Millet ; Le Royaume directed by Julien Colonna ; Un p’tit truc en plus directed by Artus ; Vingt Dieux directed by Louise Courvoisier.
Our favorite: Les Fantômes, by Jonathan Millet.
Let's be clear, every film in the selection deserves the trophy, except maybe Un p'tit truc en plus, a heartfelt comedy about summer camps for people with disabilities, but it's just a bit too crude for us. We choose to award it to Les Fantômes by Jonathan Millet, whose story, inspired by true events, leads us to the tormentor of Hamid, who suffered torture.
in the prison of Saidnaya, Syria. A harrowing pursuit led by a broken Adam Bessa, from which we emerge utterly exhausted, just like him, and which haunts us for a long time.See this post on InstagramIn this intimate documentary, the actress and screenwriter Lina Soualem shares the story of a lineage of women who learned to leave everything behind and start anew, from Palestine to France : her great-grandmother, her grandmother, and her mother, the Palestinian actress Hiam Abbass. By delving into her family secrets, she manages to heal those who kept them hidden.
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