25/02/2005 - The jet-set of French cinema will attend tomorrow at the Théâtre du Châtelet the 30th edition of the yearly event, the César. The main challengers are A Very Long Engagement by Jean-Pierre Jeune and The Chorus by Christophe Barratier

The jet-set of French cinema will attend tomorrow at the Théâtre du Châtelet the 30th edition of the yearly event, the Cesar. The ceremony will be presided by Isabelle Adjani and presented by Gad Elmaleh. The main challengers are A Very Long Engagement by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (12 nominations) and The Chorus by Christophe Barratier (8 nominations), starring Gérard Jugnot (both will then take a night plane towards Los Angeles for the Oscars ceremony), which gives a good idea of what 2004 has been all about for French cinema. Indeed, the former film started a juridical controversy and lost its ‘French’ status, which led to a modification of the standards required by the Cesars : to allow Jeunet’s film to participate, the competition has been opened to all films in French language. As for the The Chorus , it indicates a renewal in French cinema, for it is its director’s first movie, and it revived, as its huge success — despite the critics’ initial indifference— shows, the tradition of a classical form of popular cinema.
However, tomorrow some outsiders could very well beat the above-mentioned champions, especially the police stories of 36, quai des orfèvres [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Olivier Marchal (8 nominations) and the art film Rois et reine by Arnaud Desplechin (7 nominations). The competition could be made even livelier by the indecision regarding interpretation prizes. Furthermore, the Cesar for the best European Union film will be hotly-debated, for the candidates this year are Pedro Almodovar, Emir Kusturica, Ken Loach, and Ingmar Bergman’s latest films, plus Nossiter’s successful documentary about wine, Mondovino.

List of nominees:

Best film
36, quai des orfèvres [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Olivier Marchal
The Chorus by Christophe Barratier
L’Esquive [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Abdellatif Kechiche
Rois et reine by Arnaud Desplechin
A Very Long Engagementby Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Best Actor in a leading role
Mathieu Amalric in Rois et reine
Daniel Auteuil in 36, quai des orfèvres
Gérard Jugnot in Les Choristes
Benoît Poelvoorde in Podium
Philippe Torreton in L'Equipier

Best Actress in a leading role
Maggie Cheung in Clean
Emmanuelle Devos in Rois et Reine
Yolande Moreau in Quand la mer monte
Audrey Tautou in A Very Long Engagement
Karin Viard in Le rôle de sa vie

Best Actor in a supporting role
François Berléand in The Chorus
Clovis Cornillac in Mensonges et trahisons et plus si affinités...
André Dussollier in 36, quai des orfèvres
Maurice Garrel in Rois et reine
Jean-Paul Rouve in Podium

Best Actress in a supporting role
Ariane Ascaride in Brodeuses
Marion Cotillard in A Very Long Engagement
Julie Depardieu in Podium
Emilie Dequenne in L' Equipier
Mylène Demongeot in 36 quai des orfèvres

Best Director
Christophe Barratier for The Chorus
Arnaud Desplechin for Rois et Reine
Jean-Pierre Jeunet for A Very Long Engagement
Abdellatif Kechiche for L’Esquive
Olivier Marchal for 36, quai des orfèvres

Best first movie
Brodeuses by Eleonore Faucher
The Chorus by Christophe Barratier
Quand la mer monte by Gilles Porte and Yolande Moreau
Podium by Yann Moix
Violence des échanges en milieu tempéré [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Jean-Marc Moutout

Best European Union film
Just a kiss by Ken Loach
The Bad education by Pedro Almodovar
Mondovino by Jonathan Nossiter
Saraband by Ingmar Bergman
Life is a Miracle by Emir Kusturica

Best Foreign Film
Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore
21 grams by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Diarios de viaje by Walter Salles
Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind by Michel Gondry
Lost in translation by Sofia Coppola

Best female shooting-star
Marilou Berry in Look at Me
Sara Forestier in L' Esquive
Lola Naymark in Brodeuses
Sabrina Ouazani in L' Esquive
Magali Woch in Rois et reine

Best male shooting-star
Osman Elkharraz in L' Esquive
Damien Jouillerot in Les Fautes d'orthographe
Jérémie Renier in Violence des échanges en milieu tempéré
Gaspard Ulliel in A Very Long Engagement
Malik Zidi in Changing Times

Best script
Arnaud Desplechin and Roger Bohbot for Rois et reine
Agnès Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri for Look at Me
Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Guillaume Laurant for A Very Long Engagement
Abdellatif Kechiche and Ghalya Lacroix for L' Esquive
Olivier Marchal, Franck Mancuso, and Julien Rappeneau for 36 quai des orfèvres

Best Music
Angelo Badalamenti for A Very Long Engagement
Bruno Coulais for The Chorus
Tony Gatlif and Delphine Mantoulet for Exils
Nicola Piovani for L'Equipier

Best scenery
Aline Bonetto for A Very Long Engagement
François Chauvaud for The Chorus
Jean-Pierre Fouillet for Immortel (ad vitam)

Best Picture
Bruno Delbonnel for A Very Long Engagement
Jean-Marie Dreujou for Two Brothers
Eric Gautier for Clean

Best Sound
Pierre Mertens, François Maurel, Sylvain Lasseur, and Joel Rangon for 36 quai des orfèvres
Daniel Sobrino, Nicolas Cantin, and Nicolas Naegelen for The Chorus
Jean Umansky, Gerard Hardy, and Vincent Arnardi for A Very Long Engagement

Best Editing
Noëlle Boisson for Two Brothers
Hachdé for 36 quai des orfèvres
Hervé Schneid for A Very Long Engagement

Best Costumes
Catherine Bouchard for Podium
Madeline Fontaine for A Very Long Engagement
Pierre-Jean Larroque for Arsène Lupin

Best short film
Cousines by Lyes Salem
Hymne à la gazelle by Stephanie Duvivier
La méthode Bourchnikov by Grégoire Sivan
Les parallèles by Nicolas Saada

(Translated from French)