25th Prix Lumières Winners

Updating post with winners. Les Misérables leads with three (3) awards followed closely by Portrait of a Lady on Fire with two (2).

The ceremony was broadcasted for the first time on Canal + and Isabelle Huppert was the ceremony president and Isabelle Giordano was the mistress of the ceremony.

Costa-Gavras had an special award for his contribution to worldwide cinema and Roberto Benigni was also honored.  There was a special celebration of the 25-years anniversary milestone with Vanessa Benelli Mosell playing a compilation of different films soundtracks.

Today read in social media a comment that profoundly make me think about the state of French cinema when a first film is being honored with multiple nominations, including an Oscar, a Spirit Award and a Golden Globe, plus has won a top Lumière, a Goya for Best European film,  an EFA for European Discovery and more in film festivals, including Cannes Jury Prize.  No doubt is the new generation making social relevant cinema, which believe is alright; but, unfortunately for me and my huge love for French cinema, makes "great" French cinema more difficult to make.  There is around an interview with Olivier Assayas where he exposes another remarkable situation which briefly can be explained by saying, French audiences do not appreciate his films and lately he has been able to make them because the significant acceptance of international audiences.  Let's hope both types of French cinema will continue to survive as they had in more than 100 years. Sigh.

Winners are in *BLUE.  To check winners at official site go here.

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12/3/19
A few minutes ago L’Académie des Lumières announced the nominations for the 25th anniversary edition of the awards that honors French and Francophone films since 1995 when Daniel du Plantier and Edward Behr created the award.

The award is voted by some 130 international correspondents hailing from 40 countries from all continents offering a particular vision of how French cinema is perceived overseas.

Ladj Ly's debut film and Cannes Jury Prixe winner Les Misérables leads with seven (7) nominations followed by J'accuse and Grâce à Dieu with five (5) each, Portrait de la jeune fille en feu and Roubaix, une Lumière with four (4) each and with three (3) Atlantique, La Belle Epoque, Alice et le maire and Perdrix.

Noteworthy is the fact that a director (Jérémy Clapin) of an animated film (J'ai perdu mon corps) for the first time ever gets a nomination in the Best Director category and is competing côte à côte Arnaud Desplechin, Ladj Ly, Roman Polanski and Céline Sciamma.

This year a new award (Prix de la coproduction Internationale) will be given to an international co-production that showcases the activity of a a French producer in the international scenario. To qualify film has to have at least 30% French coproduction.

The Nominations

Best Film
Grâce à Dieu (By the Grace of God), François Ozon
J'acusse (An Officer and a Spy), Roman Polanski
*Les Misérables, Ladj Ly
Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu (Portrait of a Lady on Fire), Céline Sciamma
Roubaix, une Lumière (Oh Mercy!), Arnaud Desplechin



Best First Film
Atlantique (Atlantics), Mati Diop
Une Intime Conviction (Conviction), Antoine Raimbault
Les Misérables, Ladj Ly
*Nevada (The Mustang), Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre
Perdrix (The Bare Necessity), Erwan Le Duc

Best International Coproduction
Bacurau, Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles, Brazil and France
*It Must Be Heaven, Elia Suleiman, France, Qatar, Germany, Canada, Turkey and Palestine
Le Jeune Ahmed (Young Ahmed), Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Belgium and France
Lola vers la mer (Lola), Laurent Micheli, Belgium and France
Papicha, Mounia Meddour, France, Algeria, Belgium and Qatar

Best Animated Film
La fameuse invasion des ours en sicile (The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily), Lorenzo Mattotti
Funan, Denis Do
Les Hirondelles de Kaboul (The Swallows of Kabul), Zabou Breitman and Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec
*J'ai Perdu mon corps (I Lost My Body), Jérémy Clapin
Wardi (The Tower), Mats Grorud

Best Documentary
Être vivant et le savoir (Living and Knowing You're Alive), Alain Cavalier
Lourdes, Thierry Demaizière et Alban Teurlai
*M, Yolande Zauberman
Ne croyez surtout pas que je hurle (Just Don't Think I'll Scream), Frank Beauvais
68, mon père et les clous, Samuel Bigiaoui

Best Director
Jérémy Clapin for J'ai Perdu mon corps (I Lost My Body)
Arnaud Desplechin for Roubaix, une Lumière (Oh Mercy!)
Ladj Ly for Les Misérables
*Roman Polanski for J'acusse (An Officer and a Spy)
Céline Sciamma for Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu (Portrait of a Lady on Fire)

Best Actress
Fanny Ardant in La Belle Epoque, Nicolas Bedos
Anaïs Demoustier in Alice et le maire (Alice and the Mayor), Nicolas Pariser
Eva Green in Proxima, Alice Winocour
*Noémie Merlant in Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu (Portrait of a Lady on Fire), Céline Sciamma
Karin Viard in Chanson douce (Perfect Nanny), Lucie Borleteau



Most Promising Actress
Céleste Brunnquell in Les Éblouis (The Dazzled), Sarah Suco
Mina Farid in Une fille facile (An Easy Girl), Rebecca Zlotowski
*Nina Meurisse in Camille, Boris Lujkine
Lise Leplat Prudhomme in Jeanne, Bruno Dumont
Mame Binta Sané in Atlantique (Atlantics), Mati Diop

Best Actor
Swann Arlaud in Grâce à Dieu (By the Grace of God), François Ozon
Daniel Auteuil in La Belle Epoque, Nicolas Bedos
Jean Dujardin in J'acusse (An Officer and a Spy), Roman Polanski
Fabrice Luchini in Alice et le maire (Alice and the Mayor), Nicolas Pariser
*Roschdy Zem in Roubaix, une Lumière (Oh Mercy!), Arnaud Desplechin

Most Promising Actor
Thomas Daloz in Les Particules (Particles), Blaise Harrison
*Alexis Manenti in Les Misérables, Ladj Ly
Tom Mercier in Synonymes (Synonyms), Nadav Lapid
Issa Perica in Les Misérables, Ladj Ly
Thimotée Robart in Vif-Argent (Burning Ghost), Stéphane Batut

Best Screenplay
Nicolas Bedos for La Belle Epoque, Nicolas Bedos
*Ladj Ly, Giordano Gederlini and Alexis Manenti for Les Misérables Ladj Ly,
François Ozon for Grâce à Dieu (By the Grace of God), François Ozon
Nicolas Pariser for Alice et le maire (Alice and the Mayor),, Nicolas Pariser
Roman Polanski and Robert Harris for J'acusse (An Officer and a Spy), Roman Polanski

Best Cinematography
Manuel Dacosse for Grâce à Dieu (By the Grace of God), François Ozon
Pawel Edelman for J'acusse (An Officer and a Spy), Roman Polanski
Irina Lubtchansky for  Roubaix, une Lumière (Oh Mercy!), Arnaud Desplechin
*Claire Mathon for Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu (Portrait of a Lady on Fire), Céline Sciamma
Julien Poupard for  Les Misérables, Ladj Ly

Best Music
Fatima Al Qadiri for Atlantique (Atlantics), Mati Diop
Christophe for Jeanne, Bruno Dumont
*Alexandre Desplat for Adults in the Room, Costa-Gavras
Evgueni Galperine and Sacha Galperine for Grâce à Dieu (By the Grace of God) François Ozon
Dan Levy for J'ai Perdu mon corps (I Lost My Body), Jérémy Clapin

The milestone awards ceremony will be on Monday, January 27 at the Olympia, hosted by Isabelle Giordano and for the first time ever will be broadcasted live via TV in CANAL+ and myCanal.