The nominees for the upcoming Cesar Awards were announced by the Académie des César this morning at a press conference held at Fouquet's in Paris.
The nominees for the 2012 Cesar Awards:
Best Actress
- Ariane Ascaride for The Snows of Kilimanjaro
- Bérénice Béjo for The Artist
- Leïla Bekthi for The Source
- Valérie Donzelli for Declaration of War
- Marine Foïs for Poliss
- Marie Gillain for Toutes nos Envies
- Karine Viard for Poliss
Best Actor
- Sami Bouajila for Omar Killed Me
- François Cluzet for Untouchable
- Jean Dujardin for The Artist
- Olivier Gourmet for The Minister
- Denis Podalydes for The Conquest
- Omar Sy for Untouchable
- Philippe Toretton for Guilty
Best Director
- Alain Cavalier for Pater
- Valérie Donzelli for Declaration of War
- Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist
- Aki Kaurismaki for Le Havre
- Maïwenn for Poliss
- Pierre Schoeler for The Minister
- Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache for Untouchable
Best Film
- The Minister (produced by Denis Freyd, directed by Pierre Schoeler)
- Declaration of War (produced by Edouard Weil, directed by Valérie Donzelli)
- Le Havre (produced by Fabienne Vonier, directed by Aki Kaurismaki)
- Untouchable (produced by Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Yann Zenou, and Laurent Zeitoun, directed by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache)
- Pater (produced by Michel Seydoux, directed by Alain Cavalier)
- Poliss (produced by Alain Attal, directed by Maïwenn)
- The Artist (produced by Thomas Langmann, directed by Michel Hazanavicius)
Best Supporting Actress
- Zabou Breitman for The Minister
- Anne Le Ny for Untouchable
- Noémie Lvovksy for House of Tolerance
- Carmen Maura for Service Entrance
- Karole Rocher for Poliss
Best Supporting Actor
- Michel Blanc for The Minister
- Nicolas Duvauchelle for Poliss
- Joey Starr for Poliss
- Bernard Le Coq for The Conquest
- Frédéric Pierrot for Poliss
Most Promising Actress
- Naidra Ayadi for Poliss
- Adèle Haenel for House of Tolerance
- Clotilde Hesme for Angèle and Tony
- Céline Sallette for House of Tolerance
- Christa Théret for Twiggy
Most Promising Actor
- Nicolas Bridet for Tu seras mon fils
- Grégory Gadebois for Angèle and Tony
- Guillaume Gouix for Jimmy Rivière
- Pierre Niney for J’aime regarder les filles
- Dimitri Storoge for A Gang Story
Best Original Screenplay
- Valérie Donzelli and Jérémy Elkaïm for Declaration of War
- Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist
- Maïwenn and Emmanuelle Bercot for Poliss
- Pierre Schoeler for The Minister
- Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache for Untouchable
Best Adapted Screenplay
- David Foenkinos for La Délicatesse
- Vincent Garenq for Guilty
- Olivier Gorce, Roschdy Zem, Rachid Bouchareb, and Olivier Lorelle for Omar Killed Me
- Mathieu Kassovitz, Pierre Geller, and Benoît Jaubert for Rebellion
- Yasmina Reza and Roman Polanski for Carnage
Best Music
- Alex Beaupain for Beloved
- Bertrand Bonello for House of Tolerance
- Frédéric Bource for The Artist
- M and Patrick Renson for A Monster in Paris
- Pierre Schoeler for The Minister
Best Editing
- Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist
- Laurence Briaud for The Minister
- Pauline Gaillard for Declaration of War
- Laure Gardette for Poliss
- Dorina Rigal Ansous for Untouchable
Best Sound
- Pascal Armant, Jean Goudier, and Jean-Paul Hurier for Untouchable
- Jean-Pierre Duret, Nicolas Moreau, and Jean-Pierre Laforce for House of Tolerance
- Olivier Hespel, Julie Brenta, and Jean-Pierre Laforce for The Minister
- Nicolas Provost, Rym Debbarh-Mounier, and Emmanuel Croset for Poliss
- André Rigaut, Sébastien Savine, and Laurent Savinet for Declaration of War
Best Cinematography
- Pierre Aïm for Poliss
- Josée Deshaies for House of Tolerance
- Julien Hirsch for The Minister
- Guillaume Schiffman for The Artist
- Mathieu Vadepied for Untouchable
Best Costume Design
- Catherine Baba for My Little Princess
- Mark Bridges for The Artist
- Christian Gasc for Service Entrance
- Viorica Petrovici for The Source
- Anaïs Romand for House of Tolerance
Best Production Design
- Laurence Bennett for The Artist
- Alain Guffroy for House of Tolerance
- Pierre-François Limbosch for Service Entrance
- Jean Marc Tran Tan Ba for The Minister
- Wouter Zoon for Le Havre
Best Animated Film
- The Rabbi's Cat directed by Joann Sfar and Antoine Delesvaux
- The Circus directed by Nicolas Brault
- A Mouse's Tale directed by Benjamin Renner
- Le Tableau directed by Jean-François Laguionie
- A Monster in Paris directed by Bibo Bergeron
Best Documentary
- Le bal des menteurs directed by Daniel Leconte
- Crazy horse directed by Frederick Wiseman
- Ici on noie les Algériens directed by Yasmina Adi
- Michel Petrucciani directed by Michael Radford
- Tous au Larzac directed by Christian Rouaud
Best First Film
- 17 Filles directed by Muriel Coulin and Delphine Coulin
- Angèle and Tony directed by Alix Delaporte
- When Pigs Have Wings directed by Sylvain Estibal
- La Délicatesse directed by Stéphane and David Foenkinos
- My Little Princess directed by Eva Ionesco
Best Foreign Film
- Black Swan directed by Darren Aronofsky
- The King's Speech directed by Tom Hooper
- Drive directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
- The Kid with a Bike directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
- Incendies directed by Denis Villeneuve
- Melancholia directed by Lars von Trier
- A Separation directed by Asghar Farhadi
Best Short Film
- L’accordeur by Olivier Treiner (produced by 24 25 Films)
- La France qui se lève tôt by Hugo Chesnard (produced by Butterfly Productions)
- J'aurais pu être une pute by Baya Kasmi (produced by Karé Productions)
- Je pourrais être votre grand-mère by Bernard Tanguy (produced by Rezina Productions)
- Un monde sans femmes by Guillaume Brac (produced by Année Zéro)
An Honorary Cesar Award will be presented to Kate Winslet by Roman Polanski.
During the announcement of nominees, Alain Terzian, president of the Académie des César, pointed out that the Academy had adopted new regulations this year resulting in an increase in the number of nominees in the categories of Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Film, and Best Foreign Film to seven nominees. This decision was explained by a rise in the number of films released.
The Academy numbers 3,880 voting members, with a 60% participation in the first round of voting this year. Mr. Terzian noted that this was the biggest turnout in many years, with last year's turnout in the final round reaching 80%.
The poster for this year's Cesar Awards features the actress Annie Girardot, who passed away last year, photographed just after the 36th Cesar Awards ceremony. A tribute will be held for Ms. Girardot at the ceremony this year, the only actress to have been twice honored with a Cesar for Best Actress.
Hosted by the actor and director Guillaume Canet, the 37th Cesar Awards ceremony will be held February 24, 2012. The ceremony will be re-broadcast on Canal + in a program hosted by Antoine de Caunes.
