With 6 César, Le Nuit du 12 is the big winner of the 48th ceremony. As for the actors, Benoît Magimel achieves a historic double, Virginie Efira and Bouli Lanners fly the colors of Belgium.
At the end of a high-risk ceremony, so much the previous editions had in turn scandalized, disappointed and bored, this 48th César evening sees the coronation of La Nuit du 12 by Dominik Moll, who leaves the Olympia hall with no less than 6 trophies. Centered on an unresolved feminicide, this police film is crowned with the Césars for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Bouli Lanners, Best Male Hope for Bastien Bouillon, Best Adaptation and Best Sound . By winning a new César, 22 years after that for Harry, a friend who wishes you well, Dominik Moll joins the closed club of twice-award-winning directors, which notably includes Jean-Annaud and Bertrand Tavernier.
Magimel for History
With a second award in two years, Benoît Magimel enters the history of the Césars. After In his lifetime in 2022, he doubled the bet with Pacifiction, torment on the islands and his character as High Commissioner of the Republic, a troubled and charming notable in front of the camera at liberty by Albert Serra. The actor performs an unprecedented performance at the César. And to find an equivalent, you have to cross the Atlantic, where a certain Tom Hanks had shown the way, chaining two Oscars in two years, for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump.
Belgium twice!
Bouli Lanners, overjoyed, goes on stage to receive the César for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as a disillusioned inspector and literature lover in La Nuit du 12. In a short speech (constrained timing obliges) but overflowing with humanity, he confides his doubts and his feeling of imposture.
Finally ! The sixth nomination was good for Virginie Efira, who finally won the César for Best Actress for her role in the serious and compassionate Revoir Paris. A radiant smile lights up her face, one of the most beautiful moments of the evening.
And Brad was…
Honorary Caesar of this 48th ceremony, David Fincher has long seemed outside the ceremony, he had barely smiled at the introductory speech of a Jamel Debbouze in great shape. Virginie Efira then makes her appearance, she advances towards the desk to declare her admiration for the filmmaker. Nice time. And then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere…Brad Pitt! The actor from Seven, Fight Club and Benjamin Button tumbles onto the Olympia stage, an icon descended from Olympus to declaim the most moving, brilliant and warm tribute to the man who changed his life as an actor. And for five beautiful minutes, we are no longer in Paris, but somewhere else, higher up.
Activists
The presentation of the César for Best First Film to Alice Diop for Saint Omer was the occasion for a quietly radical speech, the director stressing that the generation of new French filmmakers “is not passing through”. And to mention, casually, all the directors snubbed this year by the Academy, including Alice Winocour, Blandine Lenoir, Rebecca Zlotowski.
Another event, admittedly minor but an event nonetheless, Irène Drésel became the first female composer to win the César. The winner also takes advantage of the minute allotted to the recipient to highlight the significance of this César for all female film composers. A less demonstrative militancy than the intervention of this environmental activist, who briefly interrupted the ceremony, an invention quickly cut by the organization of the event, but which social networks were quick to relay and detail.
Those who came full of hope…
And inevitably, there are also the disappointed, those who leave with little, such as L’Innocent (10 nominations), rewarded for the performance of Noémie Merlant, Best Supporting Actress, or Les Amandiers (7 nominations) for which Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Best Female Hope, is the only one to leave with an award. And there are those who got nothing, like En corps by Cédric Klapisch, who leaves empty-handed despite his 8 nominations.
CÉSAR 2022: THE COMPLETE AWARDS
Best film : The Night of 12 by Dominik Moll
The others named were:
- The Innocent by Louis Garrel
- In Body by Cédric Klapisch
- The Almond Trees by Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi
- Pacifiction – Torment on the Islands by Albert Serra
Best Achievement: Dominik Moll for The Night of 12
The others named were:
- Albert Serra for Pacifiction – Torment on the Islands
- Cédric Klapisch for En Corps
- Louis Garrel for The Innocent
- Cédric Jimenez for November
Best Actress: Virginie Efira for Revoir Paris by Alice Winocour
The others named were:
- Juliette Binoche for Ouistreham by Emmanuel Carrère
- Laure Calamy for Full Time by Éric Gravel
- Fanny Ardant for The Young Lovers by Carine Tardieu
- Adèle Exarchopoulos for Nothing to Fuck by Emmanuel Marre and Julie Lecoustre
Best actor : Benoît Magimel for Pacifiction – Torment on the Islands by Albert Serra
The others named were:
- Louis Garrel for The Innocent by Louis Garrel
- Vincent Macaigne for Chronicle of a Passing Liaison by Emmanuel Mouret
- Denis Ménochet for Peter Van Kant by François Ozon
- Jean Dujardin for November by Cédric Jimenez
Best Supporting Actress: Noémie Merlant for The Innocent
The others named were:
- Judith Chemla for The Sixth Child
- Anaïs Demoustier for November
- Anouk Grinberg for The Innocent
- Lyna Khoudri for November
Best Supporting Actor: Bouli Lanners for The Night of 12
The others named were:
- François Civil for En Corps
- Michal Escot for The Almond Trees
- Pio Marmaï for En corps
- Roschdy zem for The Innocent
Most promising Actress : Nadia Tereszkiewicz for The Almond Trees by Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi
The others named were:
- Marion Barbeau for En corps by Cédric Klapisch
- Mallory Wanecque for Les Pires by Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret
- Guslagie Malanda for Saint Omer by Alice Diop
- Rebecca Marder for A Young Girl Who is Fine by Sandrine Kiberlain
Best Male Hope: Bastien Bouillon for The Night of 12 by Dominik Moll
The others named were:
- Stefan Crepon for Peter Van Kant by François Ozon
- Dimitri Doré for Bruno Reidal by Vincent Le Port
- Paul Kircher for The High School Student by Christophe Honoré
- Aliocha Reinert for Petite Nature by Samuel Theis
Best first film: Saint Omer by Alice Diop
The others named were:
- Bruno Reidal by Vincent Le Port
- Charlotte Le Bon’s Falcon Lake
- Les Pires by Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret
- The Sixth Child by Léopold Legrand
Best documentary film: Return to Reims (Fragments) by Jean-Gabriel Périot
The others named were:
- Allons Enfants by Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai
- The Super 8 Years of Annie Ernaux and David Ernaux-Briot
- The Oak by Laurent Charbonnier and Michel Seydoux
- Jane By Charlotte by Charlotte Gainsbourg
Best foreign film: As Bestas by Rodrigo Sorogoyen
The others named were:
- Close by Lukas Dhont
- The Cairo Conspiracy by Tarik Saleh
- EO by Jerzy Skolimowski
- Without Filter by Ruben Östlund
Best animated film: My Afghan Family by Michaela Pavlatova
The others named were:
- Ernest and Célestine: the trip to Charabie by Jean-Christophe Roger and Julien Chheng
- Le Petit Nicolas – what are we waiting for to be happy? by Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre
Best Original Screenplay: Louis Garrel, Tanguy Viel, Naïla Guiguet for The Innocent
The others named were:
- Eric Gravel for Full Time
- Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Noémie Lvovsky, Agnès de Sacy for Les Amandiers
- Cédric Klapisch, Santiago Amigorena for En corps
- Alice Diop, Amrita David, Marie Ndiaye for Saint Omer
Best Adapted Screenplay: Gilles Marchand and Dominik Moll for La Nuit du 12
The others named were:
- Michel Hazanavicius for Cut!
- Thierry De Peretti and Jeanne Aptekman for Inquiry into a State Scandal
Best short film: Leave one day by Amélie Bonnin
The others named were:
- High Hearts by Adrian Moyse Dullin
- King David by Lila Pinell
- The Virtuous by Stéphanie Halfon
Best Animated Short Film: The sex life of Mamie by Urska Djukic and Emilie Pigeard
The others named were:
- Hug from Margot Reumont
- Noir-Soleil by Marie Larrivé
Best documentary short: Maria Schneider, 1983 by Elisabeth Subrin
The others named were:
- Churchill, Polar Bear Town by Annabelle Amoros
- Listen to The Beat of Our Images by Audrey Jean-Baptiste and Maxime Jean-Baptiste
Best costumes: Gigi Lepage for Simone, the journey of the century
The others named were:
- Caroline de Vivaise for Les Amandiers
- Pierre-Jean Larroque for Colors of Fire
- Emmanuelle Youchnovski for Waiting for Bojangles
- Corinne Bruand for The Innocent
- Praxedes de Vilallonga for Pacifiction – Torment on the Islands
Best sets: Christian Marti for Simone, the journey of the century
The others named were:
- Emmanuelle Duplay for The Almond Trees
- Sebastian Birchler for Colors of Fire
- Michel Barthélémy for The Night of 12
- Sebastian Vogler for Pacifiction – Torment on the Islands
Best Original Score: Irène Drésel for Full Time
The others named were:
- Alexandre Desplat for Cut!
- Grégoire Hetzel for The Innocent
- Olivier Marguerit for The Night of 12
- Marc Verdaguer and Joe Robinson for Pacifiction – Torment on the Islands
- Anton Sanko for Passengers of the Night
Best Sound: François Maurel, Olivier Mortier, Luc Thomas for The Night of 12
The others named were:
- Cyril Moisson, Nicolas Moreau, Cyril Holtz for En Corps
- Laurent Benaïm, Alexis Meynet, Olivier Guillaume for The Innocent
- Cedric Deloche, Alexis Place, Gwennolé Le Borgne, Marc Doisne for November
- Jordi Ribas, Benjamin Laurent, Bruno Tarrière for Pacifiction – Torment on the Islands
Best editing: Mathilde Van De Moortel for Full Time
The others named were:
- Anne-Sophie Bion for En Corps
- Pierre Deschamps for The Innocent
- Laure Gardette for November
- Laurent Rouan for The Night of 12
Best Cinematography: Artur Tort for Pacifiction – Torment on the Islands
The others named were:
- Julien Poupard for The Almond Trees
- Alexis Kavyrchine for En corps
- Patrick Ghiringhelli for The Night of 12
- Claire Mathon for Saint Omer
Best visual effects: Laurens Ehrmann for Our Lady Burns
The others named were:
- Guillaume Marien for The Five Devils
- Sebastien Rame for Smoking Makes Cough
- Mikaël Tanguy for November
- Marco Del Bianco for Pacifiction – Torment on the Islands