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FESTIVALS / AWARDS France

Happening triumphs at the Lumière Awards

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- Audrey Diwan’s feature film walked away with the Best Film and Best Actress trophies, the latter via Anamaria Vartolomei, while Annette pocketed three prizes and Benoît Magimel was named Best Actor

Happening triumphs at the Lumière Awards
Actress Anamaria Vartolomei and director Audrey Diwan with their Lumière awards for Happening (© Coadic Guirec/Pierre Perrusseau/Bestimage)

Awarded by foreign journalists stationed in France to the best works and artists from the world of French film, the 27th Lumière Awards organised by the international press named Happening [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anamaria Vartolomei
film profile
]
by Audrey Diwan the Best Film of 2021 during a free-to-air ceremony broadcast on Canal+. It’s the third time in the history of the Lumières that a woman director has won the main prize after Agnès Jaoui in 2001 and Deniz Gamze Ergüven in 2016, a victory consolidated by the success of French-Romanian rising star Anamaria Vartolomei (just 23 years of age and previously nominated for the Best Newcomer trophy in 2012 via My Little Princess [+see also:
trailer
interview: Anamaria Vartolomei
film profile
]
) who won herself the title of Best Actress. For the record, the film also scooped Venice’s Golden Lion last year.

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Annette [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Leos Carax also did itself proud, snaffling three awards in the form of Best Director, Best Photography (Caroline Champetier, who’d already nabbed the prize in 2011) and Best Score (Sparks: Ron and Russel Mael).

The international press also voted Benoît Magimel Best Actor (thanks to his performance in Peaceful [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Emmanuel Bercot).

Despite racking up the greatest number of nominations (5), Lost Illusions [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Xavier Giannoli
film profile
]
by Xavier Giannoli walked away with just the one Lumière: the trophy for Best Screenplay (which went to the filmmaker and which also pays indirect tribute to the incredible author Honoré de Balzac from whose writings the film has been brilliantly adapted). Arthur Harari’s most excellent Onoda - 10,000 Nights in the Jungle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arthur Harari
film profile
]
also suffered disappointment, leaving the event empty-handed despite four nominations.

Symbolic of the great diversity and vigorous revitalisation of French production, the remaining Lumière awards were won by a further five titles hailing from a younger filmmaking generation: Gagarin [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Tr…
film profile
]
by Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh (Best First Film), Titane [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Julia Ducournau, Vincent Li…
film profile
]
by Julia Ducournau (with Agathe Rousselle named Best Female Newcomer), Magnetic Beats [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Vincent Maël Cardona
film profile
]
by Vincent-Maël Cardona (Timothée Robart crowned Best Male Newcomer), The Summit of the Gods [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Patrick Imbert (Best Animated Film) and The Velvet Queen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marie Amiguet and Vincent M…
film profile
]
by Marie Amiguet and Vincent Munier (Best Documentary).

Last but not least, the Lumière for Best International Co-Production (to which minority partners can aspire, on condition that the French stake is at least 20%) went to The Worst Person in the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Trier
film profile
]
by Norway’s Joachim Trier, to the delight of his co-producer-sales agent (mk2 Films) and his French distributor (Memento Films).

The full list of winners is as follows:

Best Film
Happening [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anamaria Vartolomei
film profile
]
- Audrey Diwan

Best Direction
Leos Carax - Annette [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(France/Germany/Belgium/Switzerland/Mexico/Japan)

Best Actress
Anamaria Vartolomei - Happening

Best Actor
Benoît Magimel - Peaceful [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]

Best Screenplay
Xavier Giannoli – Lost Illusions [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Xavier Giannoli
film profile
]

Best First Film
Gagarin [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Tr…
film profile
]
- Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh

Best Female Newcomer
Agathe Rousselle – Titane [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Julia Ducournau, Vincent Li…
film profile
]
(France/Belgium)

Best Male Newcomer
Timothée Robart – Magnetic Beats [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Vincent Maël Cardona
film profile
]
(France/Germany)

Best Documentary
The Velvet Queen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marie Amiguet and Vincent M…
film profile
]
- Marie Amiguet and Vincent Munier

Best Animated Film
The Summit of the Gods [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Patrick Imbert (France/Luxembourg)

Best International Co-Production
The Worst Person in the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Trier
film profile
]
– Joachim Trier (Norway/France/Sweden/Denmark)

Best Photography
Caroline Champetier – Annette

Best Score
Ron Mael and Russel Mael (Sparks) – Annette

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

(Translated from French)

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