05/01/2004

The producer, Alain Terzian, has been appointed as the new president of the French Academy of Film Arts and Sciences (the Césars). Terzian (from Alter Films) was chosen for the high profile appointment by the management committee, following the death of the charismatic Daniel Toscan du Plantier, who died on February 11, 2003 in Berlin.

Alain Terzian will soon have his hands full organising the ceremony for the 29th edition of the Césars, which awards the best French films, actors, authors and technicians every year. This date for year's event has been changed to February 21, to avoid a clash with the American Oscars. The ceremony will be taking place in Paris, in the traditional venue at Théâtre du Chaâtelet. The award ceremony will be broadcast live by the TV channel Canal+, and the winners will be chosen by votes cast by the Academy's 3,000 members (actors, directors, producers, distributors, operators, exporters, agents and technicians). The nominations for the Césars will be announced on January 23, 2004.

Alain Terzian is the president of the Union of Film Producers, and in 2003 he produced Je Reste! by Diane Kurys (which registered an audience of 720,000). Terzian was born in 1949 and he made his debut in the film world in 1978. He now has a total of 38 feature films to his name, including three works by André Téchiné (Rendez-vous, Scene of the Crime and The Innocents) and two smash hit comedies: The Visitors in 1993 and Guardian Angels in 1995.

(Translated from French)