Latest in César Awards

The French Académie des Arts et Technique du Cinéma, the group that hands out the country’s César Awards, said Thursday that the board of directors at its parent the Association for the Promotion of Cinema will step down after this year’s ceremony, which is set for February 28 in Paris. The news comes amid backlash…

A group of nine feminist associations has called upon voting members of France's Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma not to mark their César Awards ballots for Roman Polanski's An Officer And A Spy. The Dreyfus Affair drama has a leading 12 nominations for the prizes which will be handed out on February 28 in…

France's Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma is facing strong backlash within its membership ranks, a little more than two weeks ahead of the César Awards, the local equivalent to the Oscars. Some 200 artists published an open letter in Le Monde on Monday, calling into question an "elitist and closed" Academy…

UPDATED: Nominations for the 45th César Awards were unveiled this morning in Paris, led by Roman Polanski’s Dreyfus Affair drama An Officer And A Spy with 12 including Best Film, Director and Actor (for Jean Dujardin). While Polanski remains a controversial figure owing to his 1977 child sex conviction and subsequent…

UPDATE, WRITETHRU: France’s biggest movie awards night has drawn to a close with Custody (Jusqu’à La Garde) crowned Best Picture. Originally screened in Venice and Toronto in 2017, the Xavier Legrand-directed drama is a story of domestic abuse that stars Denis Ménochet and Léa Drucker, the latter won Best Actress…

France's Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma unveiled its nominations for the César Awards this morning in Paris. The races for the country's Oscar equivalent are led by Xavier Legrand's feature debut Jusqu'à La Garde (Custody) and Gilles Lellouche's Le Grand Bain (Sink Or Swim) with 10 mentions each. They are…

UPDATE: For the second year in a row, France’s César Awards have thumbed their nose at the Oscars. Robin Campillo’s lauded activist drama BPM scored the Best Film prize tonight in Paris, along with wins for editing, original screenplay, supporting actor, score and more. The Cannes Grand Jury Prize laureate had earlier…

A day after a group of about 100 French artists launched the #MaintenantOnAgit (Now We Act) campaign to facilitate access to justice for female victims of violence, a group of 300 artists and executives is backing the “5050 Pour 2020” (50/50 by 2020) movement. Among the founding signatories are Céline Sciamma, Lea Seyd…

In a surprising turn of events, art will meet commerce — and comedy — going forward at France's César Awards. The Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma today said it has created a new prize for the annual ceremony which will go to the French film with the most ticket sales in the previous year. The Césars, France…

UPDATE, writethru: France’s Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma unveiled its nominations for the César Awards this morning in Paris. The races for the country’s Oscar equivalent are led by Cannes Grand Jury Prize winner BPM (120 Battements Par Minute) and Albert Dupontel’s drama Au Revoir Là-Haut with 13 each…

Controversial Hindi film Padmaavat has been banned in Malaysia. The Bollywood epic began worldwide release on Thursday, grossing an estimated $16.8M in India and setting a new record in North America this weekend. The Deepika Padukone-starrer evidently had one screening in Malaysia, but according to local reports was…

UPDATE, writetrhu with Barack Obama video: Three days before France heads to the polls to determine the country’s next president — and the morning after a scathing debate between candidates Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron — the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma has thrown its support firmly behind the…