On Friday, January 27, the Cesar Academy unveiled its nominations for the 31st Cesar Awards, which are to be held February 25 at the Châtelet Theater in Paris.

Five films will be vying for the Cesar for Best French Film: "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" by Jacques Audiard, "The Child" by the Dardenne brothers, "Merry Christmas" by Christian Carion, "The Little Lieutenant" by Xavier Beauvois and "Go, See, and Become" by Radu Mihaileanu.

The nominations for Best Actress are Nathalie Baye for " The Little Lieutenant," Isabelle Carré for "In His Hands," Anne Consigny for "Je ne suis pas là pour être aimée," Isabelle Huppert for "Gabrielle" and Valérie Lemercier for "Royal Palace!"

In the Best Actor category, the contenders are: Michel Bouquet in "The Last Mitterrand," Patrick Chesnais in "Je ne suis pas là pour être aimé," Romain Duris "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" and Benoît Poelvoorde in "In His Hands."

This year’s hot favorites include "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" with 10 nominations, "Merry Christmas" with 6 nominations, "The Little Lieutenant" with 5 nominations, and "The Child" and "Go, See, and Become," each with 4 nominations.

This 31st awards ceremony will be broadcast live (and free) on Canal+, with Carole Bouquet as this year’s president and the actor/director Valérie Lemercier as the evening’s emcee.

Click here to see the complete nominations list