The 45th César Awards ceremony, presented by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma, took place on 28 February 2020, at the Salle Pleyel in Paris to honour the best French films of 2019. Sandrine Kiberlain presided, and Florence Foresti as the host.
| 45th César Awards | |
|---|---|
 Official poster featuring a photo of actress Anna Karina, taken by Georges Dambier in 1959 | |
| Date | 28 February 2020 |
| Site | Salle Pleyel, Paris |
| Hosted by | Florence Foresti |
| Highlights | |
| Best Film | Les Misérables |
| Best Actor | Roschdy Zem Oh Mercy! |
| Best Actress | Anaïs Demoustier Alice and the Mayor |
| Most awards | Les Misérables (4) |
| Most nominations | An Officer and a Spy (12) |
| Television coverage | |
| Network | Canal+ |
Controversy and protests dogged the Academy in the months running up to the ceremony. The entire board of directors of the César Academy resigned on 13 February 2020,[1] in response to complaints over the opaqueness of the process and the powerlessness of normal Academy members, who do not vote for nor otherwise exercise any control over the leadership of the Academy.[2] The other issue of protest was the 12 nominations received by Roman Polanski's J'Accuse (An Officer and a Spy in English), the most nominations of any eligible film. French feminists protested heaping honors on Polanski, who was convicted of raping a minor in California in 1978 but never served his sentence, and has additionally been accused of other incidents of rape.[3][4][5][6]
Winners and nominees
editThe nominees for the 45th César Awards were announced on 29 January 2020.[7][8][9][10]
|
Les Misérables − Produced by Toufik Ayadi and Christophe Barral; Directed by Ladj Ly
|
|
|
Roschdy Zem − Oh Mercy! as Yacoub Daoud
|
Anaïs Demoustier − Alice and the Mayor as Alice Heimann
|
|
Swann Arlaud − By the Grace of God as Emmanuel Thomassin
|
Fanny Ardant − La Belle Époque as Marianne Drumond
|
|
Alexis Manenti − Les Misérables as Chris
|
Lyna Khoudri − Papicha as Nedjma 'Papicha'
|
|
La Belle Époque − Nicolas Bedos
|
An Officer and a Spy − Roman Polanski and Robert Harris based on the novel by Robert Harris
|
|
Papicha − Mounia Meddour
|
Portrait of a Lady on Fire − Claire Mathon
|
|
Les Misérables − Flora Volpelière
|
The Wolf's Call − Nicolas Cantin, Thomas Desjonquères, Raphaëll Mouterde, Olivier Goinard and Randy Thom
|
|
I Lost My Body − Dan Levy
|
An Officer and a Spy − Pascaline Chavanne
|
|
La Belle Époque − Stéphane Rozenbaum
|
|
|
I Lost My Body − Jérémy Clapin
|
La nuit des sacs plastiques − Gabriel Harel
|
|
Pile Poil − Lauriane Escaffre and Yvonnick Muller
|
Parasite (South Korea) – Directed by Bong Joon-ho
|
|
Audience Award
(presented by Josiane Balasko)
|
Controversies
editRoman Polanski's Best Director win for An Officer and a Spy was poorly received by the audience. Few clapped, and several audience members walked out in disgust, including Best Director nominee Céline Sciamma and Best Actress nominees Adèle Haenel and Noémie Merlant.[11][12]
Polanski as well as other crew members of An Officer and a Spy did not attend the ceremony.[5] No one was there to accept the award on Polanski's behalf.[11][13]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Communiqués de Presse: Renouvellement complet de la direction des César". L'Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma (in French). 14 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- ^ Dryef, Par Zineb (14 February 2020). "Le monde du cinéma français attaque le fonctionnement des Césars". Le Monde. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- ^ Marshall, Alex (14 February 2020). "Organizers of France's Oscars Resign, 2 Weeks Before Ceremony". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- ^ Alderman, Liz; Peltier, Elian (9 November 2019). "Roman Polanski Accused of 1975 Rape". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- ^ a b Roxborough, Scott (27 February 2020). "Roman Polanski Will Not Attend Cesar Awards". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ Marshall, Alex (28 February 2020). "Actors Walk Out After Roman Polanski Wins Best Director at France's Oscars". The New York Times.
- ^ "Roman Polanski's 'An Officer and a Spy' Leads France's Cesar Awards Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ "Polanski 'French Oscar' nomination sparks outrage". 29 January 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020 – via www.bbc.com.
- ^ Erbland, Kate (11 February 2020). "French Film Academy Members Call for 'Complete Overhaul' of César Awards After Weeks of Discord". Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (11 February 2020). "French Film Academy Vows Reforms Amid Membership Backlash & As César Awards Loom Under Threat Of Protest". Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- ^ a b "Césars : Roman Polanski désigné meilleur réalisateur, " Les Misérables " meilleur film".
- ^ Crucchiola, Jordan (28 February 2020). "Portrait of a Lady on Fire Star Storms Out of Awards After Roman Polanski Wins". Vulture.
- ^ Willsher, Kim (1 March 2020). "Polanski's 'Oscar' divides elite world of French cinema". The Guardian.