Despite their absence from the nominations for best director, the French directors have been hailed on several occasions, and have won all the possible awards for short films, animation and first film at the Césars.
Absent from the nominations, but more present than ever… In the speeches, and on the side of the Césars rewarding the first times and the new generation, they were there, indeed there. They are the directors.
Their total absence from nominations in the best director category – a first since 2014! – had been, remember, strongly commented on as soon as the nominations were announced.
“A basic sexism, which does not only belong to men”: Virginie Efira analyzes the absence of female directors at the César 2023
While the year 2022 has been exceptional in several respects for French female directors (international awards, public success, a lively diversity of film genres, etc.), this absence was surprising.
Several highlights of the 48th Cesar ceremony made it possible to restore, in a way, the balance. Starting with Alice Diop, winner of the best first film with Saint Omer, 5 years after a first César for short film for Vers la tendresse.
When receiving her prize, the filmmaker, who had already won an award in Venice with the film Saint Omer, delivered a powerful speech: “I just wanted to say that I am proud to belong to a new generation of French filmmakers. This year I saw extraordinary films which made me reflect on the possibilities of cinema and I would like to mention here films which completely inspired me: films by Claire Denis, the film by Rebecca Zlotowski, the film by Mia Hansen -Love, the film by Alice Winocour, the film by Céline Devaux, by Blandine Lenoir… Thank you. We will not be passing through, nor a fad. We are called upon to renew ourselves year after year, to grow. Thank you girls. Thank you for being here”.
Two renowned actresses, who won awards last night, also had the elegance to pay tribute to these filmmakers. Virginie Efira and Noémie Merlant wanted to send them a word.
“I will extend this César to other female directors, to Rebecca Zlotowskiexpressed Virginie Efira, on the stage of L’Olympia. thank you for Other people’s children. Thank you for this wonderful character and filming. Thank you Anne (Fontaine), Catherine (Corsini), Marion (Vernoux), Emmanuelle (Cuau). Thank you Justine Triet with whom it all started, and everything opened up for me. (…) Thank you very much, it gives me infinite pleasure.“
Previously, Noémie Merlant, César for Best Supporting Actor for The Innocent by Louis Garrel, had also had a thought for all these filmmakers who have counted in her career: “I can’t help but have a thought for Marie-Castille (Mention Schaar), for you Jacques (Audiard), for you Céline (Sciamma), and finally especially Louis (Garrel). (…) I am thinking of all the female directors who should have been celebrated tonight. I miss them“.
In the wake of the ceremony, in front of the press, Virginie Efira and Noémie Merlant commented on this choice to have a strong thought for these women.
In addition to the speeches, it should be noted that five female directors were honored, in categories other than those of best fiction film.
The directors of short films produced a full box with three Césars won out of the three possible: the short fiction film for Leaving one day by Amélie Bonnin, the short documentary film for Maria Schneider, 1983 by Elisabeth Subrin, and the short animated film, for The Sexual Life of Mamie by Urska Djukic and Emilie Pigeard.
All of them embody a renewal and as the director Emilie Pigeard formulates on our microphone, “the power of animated cinema“. Note also that the best animated feature film was awarded to a director, Michaela Pavlatova for My Afghan Family. Still on our microphone, Alice Diop also commented on this rebalancing.
“Which proves that when you point the finger at the unconscious mechanisms, because it’s a lot of that, ultimately resistance, including among women. We grew up in an extremely patriarchal society. (…) There is really a work of raising awareness of these mechanisms of very strong resistance, and a way of deconstructing a certain number of imaginaries, because I cannot imagine that in the whole cinematographic year, there is no There is no woman who could claim the nomination of best director. Well, I can’t imagine that at all. So no doubt that in the choice of the final vote, there was this awareness, this desire.“
Find the complete winners and the summary of the 48th Cesar ceremony by following this link. The entire ceremony is available in replay on myCANAL, as well as a montage centered on the highlights.
For the record, La Nuit du 12 by Dominik Moll was the big winner of the evening with 6 statuettes won, including best film and best director.