When will the next Caesar ceremony take place and who are the first names expected? Here is everything we know about the events happening in 2024 for the Académie des César.
4 months before the 2024 César ceremony, we take stock of everything we know about the event celebrating a year of French cinema. In particular with the main dates surrounding the event.
When and where will the 2024 César ceremony be held?
The 49th César ceremony will be held on February 23, 2024. It will be broadcast live and unencrypted by Canal+, from the legendary Olympia hall in Paris. The event will also be visible in streaming on the Dailymotion channel of Canal+.
Please note that the broadcast takes place live. “The César Academy, in full agreement with Canal+, has always wanted the César Ceremony to take place live, without any delay.“, indicated the organizers last year, when the broadcast had to be interrupted temporarily, due to the bursting of an activist on stage.
The 2024 nominations: when will we know the list of nominees?
Votes will open on January 2, 2024. Then, one month before the ceremony takes place, the complete list of nominations will be revealed. The precise date chosen is January 24, 2024. It is on this date that we will know the nominees, category by category, including best film and best direction, the two most popular statuettes.
For the record, last year, Louis Garrel’s L’Innocent was the favorite for the 2023 Césars, with 11 nominations. The Night of the 12th by Dominik Moll was the 2nd most cited film. But, in fact, which film ultimately won the most Césars in February 2023?
The Caesar calendar: where to find the complete Caesar calendar?
The Académie des César website provides a calendar of all 2024 events, of which here are the main dates:
- January 2, 2024: opening of voting for the Césars
- January 8, 2024: Caesar & techniques evening
- January 15, 2024: evening of Revelations 2024
- January 24, 2024: announcement of the 2024 César nominations
Learn more: https://www.academie-cinema.org/agenda/
How many Caesars are awarded?
25 Caesars are presented during the ceremony. 24 of them are put to a vote. The Honorary César is an honorary prize, as its name suggests, chosen by the Academy.
Here is the full list of categories. The Césars awarded are Best Film, Best Direction, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Promising Actress, Best Promising Male, Best First Film, Best Documentary Film, Best Foreign Film, Best Animated Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Short Film, Best Animated Short Film, Best Documentary Short Film, Best Costumes, Best Set Designs, Best Original Music, Best Sound, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best visual effects, without forgetting the Honorary César.
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Remember that a César for high school students has also been awarded since 2019. The 7 films nominated for the César for Best Film are thus also submitted to the vote of more than 1,800 high school students for the César des High Schools. Let us also point out that the Daniel Toscan du Plantier Prize rewards a producer each year. Finally, two technical Césars are awarded each year, a few weeks before the official ceremony: the César & Techniques trophy, and the César & Techniques Innovation Prize.
Remember that visual effects only joined the list of César categories in 2022. As for best short documentary, it also made its return in 2022. It existed from 1977 to 1991, before being deleted. In total, three genres of short films are distinguished each year: fiction, animation, documentary.
What were the first films nominated or pre-nominated?
Like every year, it is the short films, then soon the best female and male hopefuls, who open the ball for the first nominees, or more precisely pre-nominees.
As noted above, three types of short films are now distinguished, and the films nominated in each of these categories have only recently been announced.
Here they are :
The 24 short fiction films pre-nominated for the 2024 ceremony
The 12 animated short films pre-nominated for the 2024 ceremony
The 12 short documentary films pre-nominated for the 2024 ceremony
Furthermore, we will know, in less than a month, the actresses and actors pre-nominated in the Revelations category, that is to say eligible for the César for best female hopeful and best male hopeful. The list will be announced on November 15, 2023. But actually, who were the actresses and actors pre-nominated for Revelations in 2023? Nadia Tereszkiewicz for Les Amandiers and Bastien Bouillon for The Night of the 12th had finally won the precious statuettes.
Who will present the ceremony?
This will be a collegial presentation. The César and Canal+ Academy had already opted for this formula in 2023, and had thus argued this decision: “A collegial and joyful presentation in support of cinematographic creation, a collective mobilization in the service of a renewed ceremony which will highlight the diversity and richness of cinema in France“, indicated Canal+ and the Académie des César in a press release.
In 2023, there were 9 of them, with 4 women and 5 men: Leïla Bekhti, Jérôme Commandeur, Jamel Debbouze, Emmanuelle Devos, Léa Drucker, Eye Haïdara, Alex Lutz, Raphaël Personnaz and Ahmed Sylla. Among them, only Jérôme Commandeur had already taken part in the exercise, in 2017. Jamel Debbouze was President during the 2013 edition.
If no name has yet filtered, we know however that Antoine de Caunes will not return. As he indicated on RTL, he wants to stop at the number 10.
If we take into account the 2022 ceremony, Antoine de Caunes is the personality who has presented the César ceremony the most times. Until now this record was held by Pierre Tchernia, either alone at the controls or in tandem.
The premiere of Antoine de Caunes in the costume of master of ceremonies dates back to 1996, the year which saw the coronation of La Haine by Mathieu Kassovitz. He then presented, in succession, the editions of 1997, 1998 and 1999. He took over almost 10 years later, in 2008 and 2009, then from 2011 to 2013.
Note that in 1999, Antoine de Caunes was simultaneously nominated for the César for best actor for The Man Is a Woman Like Any Other. It was ultimately Jacques Villeret who won for Le Dîner de cons.
In addition to the presentation, the Academy chooses a president each year. It was Tahar Rahim who chaired the 48th edition.
Who are the first favorites?
As the year 2023 has not completely passed, it is still too early to embark on a game of precise predictions. But despite everything, a few films or personalities already seem to stand out, as they have marked the year. Raphaël Quenard, seen in numerous films this year, and very noticed in Yannick by Quentin Dupieux, should undoubtedly be nominated.
On the feature film side, Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet, distinguished by a Palme d’Or this year, and more than 1.2 million admissions, should logically feature prominently in the nominations. The Goldman Trial, The Animal Kingdom, The Passion of Dodin Bouffant or I will always see your faces could also find a good place, thanks to their prizes and/or public and critical success. Finally, let’s mention Second Tour by Albert Dupontel, filmmaker who made a splash in 2021 with Adieu les idiots and its 7 trophies. Second Tour is released this Wednesday October 25, 2023.
Who will be the personalities in the spotlight?
A tribute to the deceased of the year will, as always, be broadcast during the ceremony. A particular tribute should be paid to Jane Birkin, to whom the Academy had already paid tribute just after the announcement of her death.
Among the French personalities who should be cited, let us mention Michel Deville, Sophie Filières, and Marion Game.
The 49th César ceremony will be held on February 23, 2024.