THE SELECTION OF THE 45TH CESAR CEREMONY

I ACCUSATE THE MISERABLES THE BELLE EPOQUE...

The Académie des César unveiled all of the nominations on Wednesday January 29 in Paris. Roman Polanski's film J'accuse leads the nominations for the César 2020, with 12 nominations.

He was notably named in the major categories "best director" and "best film", when his release had been disrupted by a new accusation of rape against the director.

The Cesars must not "have moral positions", said the president of the Academy, Alain Terzian, about Roman Polanski to defuse any controversy, thus referring to the accusations of rape against the director brought by the French photographer Valentine Monnier.

But the heavy responsibility of making the difference between man and his work or not has not finished tapping everyone.

Les Misérables by Ladj Ly and La Belle Epoque by Nicolas Bedos each record 11 nominations: they are in the running, among others, for the "best film".

The film Portrait of the young girl on fire, by Céline Sciamma, records 10 nominations.

Co-written by three screenwriters, Ladj Ly, Giordanno Gederlini and Alexis Manenti (also performer), Les Misérables (11 nominations) is largely inspired by the director's youth lived in Montfermeil (Seine-Saint-Denis), in the Paris suburbs in a thriller between the inhabitants of a city and the police.

In La Belle Epoque, a funny, sensitive and poetic film, Nicolas Bedos paints a portrait of Victor (Daniel Auteuil) whose son (Guillaume Canet) offers him the opportunity to relive his meeting in 1973 with his future wife (Dora Tillier) in as part of a playful reconstruction.

Portrait of the girl on fire treats, with the elegance of the staging and the interpretation of Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel, of artistic creation, of the story of an 18th century painter brought to make the portrait of a woman with whom she falls in love.

Rarely do so many films end up with a dozen nominations each, in the finalized selection of Cesars.

The nominees for the César Award for Best Director correspond perfectly to this selection: Nicolas Bedos, François Ozon, Roman Polanski, Ladj Ly, Céline Sciamma, Arnaud Desplechin, Eric Tolédano and Olivier Nakache.

In the running for the statuette of the best actress, Anaïs Demoustier will face Chiara Mastroianni, Eva Green, Adèle Haenel, Noémie Merlant, Doria Tillier and Karin Viard. For men, it was Daniel Auteuil, Damien Bonnard, Vincent Cassel, Jean Dujardin, Reda Kateb, Melvil Poupaud or Roschdy Zem who won the César for best actor.

The 45th ceremony, chaired by Sandrine Kiberlain, will take place on February 28 at the Salle Pleyel.




Kelly Donaldson for DayNewsWorld