A Prophet leads nominations

by Fabien Lemercier

22/01/2010 - With 13 nominations, Jacques Audiard’s A Prophet dominates the list of nominees for the 2010 Césars, to be awarded on February 27.

Next in line are Xavier Giannoli’s In the Beginning (11 nominations), Philippe Lioret ’s Welcome (ten - also winner of the LUX Prize 2009) and Radu Mihaileanu’s The Concert (six). These four features will vie for Best Film, alongside Alain Resnais’ Wild Grass, Jean-Paul Lilienfeld’s Skirt Day and Belgian director Lucas Belvaux’s Rapt.

Meanwhile, Anne Fontaine’s Coco Before Chanel has garnered six nominations, and Philippe Godeau’s One for the Road has five.

Winner of the title in 2007, François Cluzet has received two nominations for the 2010 Best Actor César (for In the Beginning and One for the Road). He will compete alongside three strong contenders who have never won before: Yvan Attal (Rapt); Vincent Lindon (Welcome); and new discovery Tahar Rahim (A Prophet), who is also nominated in the Best Male Newcomer category.

Nominees vying for Best Actress include Isabelle Adjani (Skirt Day), who won four Césars in this category between 1982 and 1995; Dominique Blanc (The Other One), who picked up honours in 2001; and three thesps who have never been crowned with the Best Actress César: Sandrine Kiberlain (Mademoiselle Chambon), Kristin Scott Thomas (Leaving) and Audrey Tautou (Coco Before Chanel).

Finally, in the Best Foreign Film category, nominees include three European features: Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon, Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire and Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar’s A Town Called Panic. They will compete alongside films by Canada’s Xavier Dolan and US directors Clint Eastwood, Gus Van Sant and James Cameron.

The nominations in the main categories:

Best Film
In the Beginning [trailer] - Xavier Giannoli
The Concert [trailer, film focus] - Radu Mihaileanu
Wild Grass [trailer] - Alain Resnais
Skirt Day [trailer] - Jean-Paul Lilienfeld
Rapt [trailer] - Lucas Belvaux
A Prophet [trailer, film focus] - Jacques Audiard
Welcome [trailer, film focus] - Philippe Lioret

Best Actor
Yvan Attal - Rapt
François Cluzet - In the Beginning
François Cluzet - One for the Road [trailer]
Vincent Lindon - Welcome
Tahar Rahim - A Prophet

Best Actress
Isabelle Adjani - Skirt Day
Dominique Blanc - The Other One [trailer]
Sandrine Kiberlain - Mademoiselle Chambon [trailer]
Kristin Scott Thomas - Leaving [trailer]
Audrey Tautou - Coco Before Chanel [trailer]

Best Director
Jacques Audiard - A Prophet
Lucas Belvaux - Rapt
Xavier Giannoli - In the Beginning
Philippe Lioret - Welcome
Radu Mihaileanu - The Concert

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Jean – Hugues Anglade - Persecution [trailer]
Niels Arestrup - A Prophet
Joey Starr - The Actress’ Ball [trailer]
Benoît Poelvoorde - Coco Before Chanel
Michel Vuillermoz - One for the Road

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Aure Atika - Mademoiselle Chambon
Anne Consigny - Rapt
Audrey Dana - Welcome
Emmanuelle Devos - In the Beginning
Noémie Lvovsky - The French Kissers [trailer]

Best Debut Film
The French Kissers - Riad Sattouf
One for the Road - Philippe Godeau
Spy(ies) [trailer] - Nicolas Saada
Meet the Elisabethz [trailer] - Lucien Jean-Baptiste
Silent Voices [trailer] - Léa Fehner

Best Male Newcomer
Firyat Ayverdi - Welcome
Adel Bencherif - A Prophet
Vincent Lacoste - The French Kissers
Tahar Rahim - A Prophet
Vincent Rottiers - I’m Glad that My Mother Is Alive [trailer]

Best Female Newcomer
Pauline Etienne - Silent Voices
Florence Loiret-Caille - Someone I Loved [trailer]
Soko - In the Beginning
Christa Théret - LOL (Laughing Out Loud) [trailer]
Mélanie Thierry - One for the Road

Best Original Screenplay
Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, Abdel Raouf Dafri, Nicolas Peufaillit - A Prophet
Xavier Giannoli - In the Beginning
Jean-Paul Lilienfeld - Skirt Day
Philippe Lioret, Emmanuel Courcol, Olivier Adam - Welcome
Radu Mihaileanu, Alain-Michel Blanc - The Concert

Best Adapted Screenplay
Stéphane Brizé, Florence Vignon - Mademoiselle Chambon
Anne Fontaine, Camille Fontaine - Coco Before Chanel
Philippe Godeau, Agnès de Sacy - One for the Road
Laurent Tirard, Grégoire Vigneron- Little Nicolas [trailer]
Alex Réval, Laurent Herbiet - Wild Grass

Best Cinematography
Christophe Beaucarne - Coco Before Chanel
Laurent Dailland - Welcome
Stéphane Fontaine - A Prophet
Eric Gautier - Wild Grass
Glynn Speeckaert - In the Beginning

Best Production Design
Michel Barthélemy - A Prophet
Aline Bonetto - Micmacs [trailer]
Maamar Ech Cheikh - OSS 117: Lost in Rio [trailer]
François-Renaud Labarthe - In the Beginning
Olivier Radot - Coco Before Chanel

Best Costume Design
Chattoune & Fab - Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky
Charlotte David - OSS 117: Lost in Rio
Madeline Fontaine - Micmacs
Catherine Leterrier - Coco Before Chanel
Virgine Montel - A Prophet

Best Editing
Célia Lafitedupont - In the Beginning
Hervé de Luze - Wild Grass
Andréa Sedlackova - Welcome
Ludo Troch - The Concert
Juliette Welfing - A Prophet

Best Sound
Pierre Excoffier, Bruno Tarrière, Selim Azzazi - The Concert
Pierre Mertens, Laurent Quaglio and Eric Tisserand - Welcome
François Musy, Gabriel Hafner - In the Beginning
Brigitte Taillandier, Francis Wargnier, Jean-Paul Hurier - A Prophet
Jean Umansky, Gérard Hardy , Vincent Arnardi - Micmacs

Best Original Score
Armand Amar - The Concert
Alex Beaupain - Making Plans for Lena [trailer] Alexandre Desplat - A Prophet
Cliff Martinez - In the Beginning
Nicola Piovani - Welcome

Best Documentary Film
Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno [trailer] - Serge Bromberg, Ruxandra Medrea
La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet - Frederick Wiseman
Himalaya: Path to the Sky - Marianne Chaud
Home - Yann-Arthus Bertrand
My Greatest Escape - Fabienne Godet

Best Foreign Film
Avatar - James Cameron
Gran Torino - Clint Eastwood
Harvey Milk - Gus Van Sant
I Killed My Mother - Xavier Dolan
A Town Called Panic [trailer, film focus] - Stéphane Aubier & Vincent Patar
The White Ribbon [trailer, film focus] - Michael Haneke
Slumdog Millionaire [trailer, film focus] - Danny Boyle

Best Short Film
It’s Free for Girls - Claire Burger, Marie Amachoukeli
Donde Esta Kim Basinger? - Edouard Deluc
Another’s Reason - Foued Mansour
Family Viewing - Cheng-Chui Kuo
The Williams - Alban Mench

(Translated from French)