Glenn here while Nathaniel is travelling back from the wonders of Sundance. I do so enjoy looking at national awards since they paint such a gloriously global view of the film world that most of the American award bodies simply do not even attempt. They're always a good way of finding out about films that may otherwise go unnoticed in the ever-expanding world of film festivals (increasingly the only way to see many of these films, anyway) and a great way of finding the next big thing to which you can tell your friends and colleagues, "I saw them first in that tiny foreign film."
This year's César Awards from France have announced their nominations and it's a handsome looking bunch, even if I've only seen a few of the actual nominees (again, blame those tricky new age distribution methods and diminishing foreign indie market). I was super happy to see Bertrand Bonello's Saint Laurent, France's unsuccessful 2014 Oscar submission, in the mix across the board since I flipped for it at NYFF last August. I certainly enjoyed it more than Nathaniel, and when it finally gets a release across the oceans I'll be more than pleased to beg people to go and see it. Curiously, it will compete against last year's second biopic of the famed fashion designer, Jalil Lespert's less well-received Yves Saint Laurent, in several acting and technical categories.
Elsewhere Abderrahmane Sissako's exceptional France-Mauritania copro Timbuktu adds a collection of César nods to its net of successes including that historic Oscar nomination. Another Oscar nominee, Marion Cotillard in Two Days, One Night, also snagged a nomination, which is hardly surprising, but the acclaimed Dardennes brothers' film missed out in every other category except foreign film, so I suspect there's some eligibility tango being played there. Is she eligible because she's French, but the film isn't because it's Belgian? If anybody can enlighten us that would be fabulous. Wim Wenders' The Salt of the Earth, his Oscar-nominated documentary about anthropological photographer Sebastião Salgado, also made the César list and we'll have a discussion on that film and the other doc nominees soon.
The last film I need to mention is one that American audiences will finally get the chance to see in April. Olivier Assayas' Clouds of Sils Maria - simply Sils Maria in France - which had a very successful day despite leaving last year's Cannes Film Festival with no prizes and some questionable buzz. I'm going to assume the César embrace of a French film performed predominantly in English is rare, but don't want to claim it as fact. What I do know is that it's excellent and I'm worried about some of the write-ups it will get when released in America. Nevertheless, the nomination for Kristen Stewart is particularly sweet given how easy it would be for a French organisation to push her to the side and focus on Juliette Binoche. She's the best thing in it after all. Who needs a sequel to Snow White and The Huntsman, am I right?
Following is the entire list of nominees. Which ones have you been lucky enough to see?
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Best Film
Les Combattants, dir: Thomas Cailley
Eastern Boys, dir: Robin Campillo
La Famille Bélier, dir: Eric Lartigau
Saint Laurent, dir: Bertrand Bonello
Hippocrate, dir: Thomas Lilti
Sils Maria, dir: Olivier Assayas
Timbuktu, dir: Abderrahmane Sissako
I have literally had a screener of nominated gay drama Eastern Boys sitting open in a browser tab for several days now. I guess this is the final kick I needed to actually press play. It opens in New York on the 27th of February, and Timbuktu was just released this last weekend to capitalize on its Oscar nomination. I'd love to hear from anybody who's seen La Famille Belier, Les Combattants or Hippocrate...
Best Director
Céline Sciamma, Bande De Filles
Thomas Cailley, Les Combattants
Robin Campillo, Eastern Boys
Thomas Lilti, Hippocrate
Bertrand Bonello, Saint Laurent
Olivier Assayas, Sils Maria
Abderrahmane Sissako, Timbuktu
Sciamma's Bande de Filles - or Girlhood internationally - is the "lone director" of the César's and I so look forward to seeing her film when it's released at the end of January. I briefly spoke to her when I was at the Stockholm Film Festival and elicited a bit of a giggle from her when I was desperate to see her film because I wasn't as in love with Boyhood as everyone else. I wonder if they ever thought of changing the title given how often the two will be compared (I suspect unfavourably simply because foreign language movies about black girls challenging the patriarchal norm don't compare well to nostalgic trips through male youth).
Best Actress
Juliette Binoche, Sils Maria
Catherine Deneuve, Dans La Cour
Marion Cotillard, Deux Jours, Une Nuit
Emilie Dequenne, Pas Son Genre
Adèle Haenel, Les Combattants
Sandrine Kiberlain, Elle L’Adore
Karin Viard, La Famille Bélier
Best Actor
Pierre Niney, Yves Saint Laurent
Romain Duris, Une Nouvelle Amie
Gaspard Ulliel, Saint Laurent
Guillaume Canet, La Prochaine Fois Je Viserai Le Coeur
Niels Arestrup, Diplomatie
François Damiens, La Famille Bélier
Vincent Lacoste, Hippocrate
Best Supporting Actress
Marianne Denicourt, Hippocrate
Claude Gensac, Lulu Femme Nue
Izïa Higelin, Samba
Charlotte Le Bon, Yves Saint Laurent
Kristen Stewart, Sils Maria
Best Supporting Actor
Eric Elmosnino, La Famille Bélier
Jérémie Renier, Saint Laurent
Guillaume Gallienne, Yves Saint LAurent
Louis Garrel, Saint Laurent
Reda Kateb, Hippocrate
Oh Louis Garrel... Yes, Louis Garrel..
Best Original Screenplay
Les Combattants
La Famille Bélier
Hippocrate
Sils Maria
Timbuktu
Best Adapted Screenplay
La Chambre Bleue
Diplomatie
Pas Son Genre
Lulu Femme Nue
La Prochaine Fois Je Viserai Le Coeur
Best Newcomer (Male)
Kevin Azaïs, Les Combattants
Ahmed Dramé, Les Héritiers
Kirill Emelyanov, Eastern Boys
Pierre Rochefort, Un Beau Dimanche
Marc Zinga, Qu’Allah Bénisse La France
Best Newcomer (Female)
Lou de Laâge, Respire
Joséphine Japy, Respire
Louane Emera, La Famille Bélier
Ariane Labed, Fidelio, L’Odyssée D’Alice
Karidja Touré, Bande De Filles
I remember all of the buzz out of Cannes over Mélanie Laurent's Respire, but it doesn't appear to have turned into awards from her home country except for these couple of newcomer acting nominations. Nor has it turned into much in terms of international distribution - surely some of her Hollywood friends can help her out, right? Has anybody seen it? It looks super interesting, especially since it's coming from a female directorial POV.
Best Debut Feature
Les Combattants
Elle L’Adore
Fidelio, L’Odyssée D’Alice
Party Girl
Qu’Allah Bénisse La France
Best Foreign Film
Winter Sleep, dir: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Boyhood, dir: Richard Linklater
12 Years A Slave, dir: Steve McQueen
Deux Jours, Une Nuit, dirs: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
Mommy, dir Xavier Dolan
Ida, dir: Pawel Pawlikowski
The Grand Budapest Hotel, dir: Wes Anderson
A very solid line-up, would we not all agree? I think we would all agree that this is an almighty smashing line-up.
Best Score
Bande De Filles
Bird People
Les Combattants
Timbuktu
Yves Saint-Laurent
Best Editing
Les Combattants
Hippocrate
Party Girl
Saint-Laurent
Timbuktu
Best Cinematography
La Belle Et La Bête
Saint-Laurent
Sils Maria
Timbuktu
Yves Saint Laurent
Timbuktu's Safian El Fani should probably win for this spectacular scene alone, right? I mean... gosh. Just so gorgeous and powerful.
Best Set Design
La Belle Et La Bête
La French
Saint-Laurent
Timbuktu
Yves Saint Laurent
Best Costumes
La Belle Et La Bête
La French
Saint-Laurent
Une Nouvelle Amie
Yves Saint Laurent
Best Documentary
Caricaturistes – Fantassins De La Démocratie
Les Chèvres De Ma Mère
La Cour De Babel
National Gallery
Salt Of The Earth
Frederick Wiseman xoxo ♥♥♥
Best Sound
Bande De Filles
Bird People
Les Combattants
Saint Laurent
Timbuktu
Best Animated Film
Minuscule – La Vallée Des Fourmis Perdues, dirs: Thomas Szabo and Hélène Giraud
Jack Et La Mécanique Du Coeur, dir: Stéphane Berla
Le Chant De La Mer, dir: Tomm Moore
Best Short Film
Aïssa
La Femme De Rio
Inupiluk
Les Jours D’Avant
Où Je Mets Ma Pudeur
La Virée A Paname
Best Animated Short
Bang Bang!
La Bûche De Noël
La Petite Casserole D’Anatole
Les Petits Cailloux