The official committee responsible for selecting the film that will represent France at the Oscars in 2017 (in the Best Foreign-Language Film category) gathered yesterday, September 13, at the CNC. The committee selected a shortlist of four films: Cézanne and I by Danièle Thompson, Elle by Paul Verhoeven, Frantz by François Ozon, and Agnus Dei / The Innocents by Anne Fontaine.
The committee is composed of 7 members:
- Thierry Frémaux, artistic director of the Cannes Film Festival
- Alain Terzian, producer and president of the Académie des César
- Jean-Paul Salomé, film director and president of Unifrance
- Teresa Cremisi, president of the CNC's Advance on Receipts Committee
- Sandrine Bonnaire, actor and film director
- Léa Seydoux, actor
- Éric Toledano, filmmaker
In this first stage of selection, the committee has chosen four films that fulfill the compulsory qualifying criteria: the film must have been released in France between October 1, 2015, and September 30, 2016; creative control of the production must have been largely in the hands of French citizens or residents; and the film must have gained distribution in the USA.
The committee will meet again on September 26 to make their final selection of the film to represent France.
The 2017 Oscars awards ceremony will be held on February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.
