TheCésar Award[a] (French:[sezaʁ]) is the national film award ofFrance. It is delivered in theNuit des César ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by theFrench Ministry of Culture.[4] The nationally televised award ceremony is held in Paris each year in February. The exact location has changed over the years (in theThéâtre du Châtelet from 2002 to 2016). It is an initiative of theAcadémie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma, which was founded in 1975.
The César Award is considered the highest film honor in France, the French film industry's equivalent to theMolière Award for theatre, and theVictoires de la Musique for music. In cinema, it is the French equivalent to theAcademy Award. The award was created byGeorges Cravenne, who was also the creator of the Molière Award for theatre. The name of the award comes from thesculptorCésar Baldaccini (1921–1998) who designed it.
In 1974,Georges Cravenne founded the Academy of Arts and Techniques of Cinema that was, from the outset, intended to reward the achievements and the most remarkable film artwork, to have a French equivalent to the American Oscars. The first César Awards – also known as the "Night of Caesar" – were held on 3 April 1976 under the chairmanship ofJean Gabin who watched the ceremony from the front row seated in a wheelchair a few months before his death. The name of the award comes from the sculptor César, designer of the trophy awarded to the winners in each category. It is also an homage toRaimu, the great French actor and performer in the Marseille trilogy ofMarcel Pagnol, in which Raimu played the character of César.
The César Awards replaced theÉtoile de cristal [fr], which was awarded from 1955 to 1975. Other prizes had been awarded to French cinema in the past. From 1934 to 1986, theGrand prix du cinéma français [fr], established by film pioneerLouis Lumière, was given to one film a year. In the 1950s, theVictoire du cinéma français [fr] was awarded each June. Lacking popular enthusiasm compared to the Étoile de cristal, this award was discontinued after 1964.[citation needed]
At the inaugural César Awards, 13 awards were distributed. Today, there are 22 (in nine subcategories). Categories added in recent years includeMost Promising Actor/Actress (Meilleur espoir),Best Documentary (Meilleur documentaire) andBest Animated Film (Meilleur film d'animation), while awards honoring the best film poster and best producer have been dropped, as they are now given at a sister ceremony, thePrix Daniel Toscan du Plantier [fr]. In September 2021, the governing association of the César Awards voted to create two new awards that were introduced in the 47th ceremony:Best Visual Effects andBest Documentary Short Film.[6]
Beginning with the 43rd César ceremony in 2018, a new special award, the César du public, is given to the French film with the most box office receipts during the previous year and the beginning of the current year.[7] This award responds to the need to reward French comedy films, which remain the most popular genre in France.[8][9][10]
During the 45th ceremony in 2020,Adèle Haenel, a French actress playing the main character inPortrait of a Lady on Fire, left the room whenRoman Polanski's award for best director[11] was announced in protest against the fact that notable sexual abusers in the film industry can receive awards when their victims are reduced to silence. Polanski was convicted of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old in California in 1978, and has additionally been accused of other incidents of rape.[12][13][14][15][16][17]
The César statues are compressed sculptures of metal objects, designed in 1975 by the sculptorCésar Baldaccini, a friend ofGeorges Cravenne who gave them their name as a wink to the Oscars, the sound of the name being close to the filmCésar by Pagnol.[18] These forged pieces are made from polished natural bronze, unlike theOscars which are plated in gold. The latter directly inspired the first AATC trophy in 1976, which was a reel of film encircling a silhouette.[19][20] In 1977, before a mixed reception of actors, Baldaccini unveiled the current 8 by 8 cm compression, weighing 3.6 kg and cast in the Bocquel foundry in Normandy. The cost of a César has not been officially revealed, but is estimated at around 1,500 euros.
Voting for César Awards is conducted through two ballots by mail: the first to establish nominations per category (three to five, depending on the discipline), and the second to decide the winner.
Voters are professionals in the field, numbering about 4,000, divided into 12 colleges (actors, directors, writers, technicians, producers, distributors and international vendors, operators, agents artistic, technical industries, casting directors, press officers and members associates). The criteria for voting are: demonstrate a relatively consistent career in film and get a double sponsorship in the Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma. Nominees or winners of the previous editions are exempt from these formalities.
To aid voters, the Académie identifies each year films released in France and provides a guide to the works and eligible professionals. A DVD set of French or primarily French productions produced during the year is sent in December with the catalog of films to the electors. After the nominations are revealed, at the end of January, special screenings of the nominated films are shown at theLe Balzac cinema in Paris, near theChamps-Élysées. Each year, a special lunch (Déjeuner des nommés aux César du cinéma [fr]) for nominees is held at the famousFouquet's restaurant on the Champs-Élysées, a few weeks before the ceremony.[citation needed]
^As indicated on the official website,[1] the name César is considered a proper noun. In French, proper nouns are invariable and never take a plural 's'.[2][3]
