The 49th

César Awards The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Min ...

ceremony, presented by the

Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, th ...

, took place on 23 February 2024 at the Olympia in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, to honour the best French films of 2023.

Valérie Lemercier Valérie Lemercier (; born 9 March 1964) is a French actress, screenwriter, director and singer. Life and career Born in Dieppe, Seine-Maritime as the daughter of farmers, Lemercier grew up in Gonzeville and then studied at the Rouen Conservat ...

presided over the ceremony, after serving as the host for three previous editions (

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

). Mirroring the previous ceremony, multiple actors and filmmakers hosted the 49th iteration: Ariane Ascaride,

Bérénice Bejo Bérénice Bejo (; born 7 July 1976) is a French-Argentine actress best known for playing Christiana in '' A Knight's Tale'' (2001) and Peppy Miller in '' The Artist'' (2011). Her work in the latter earned her a nomination for the Academy Award ...

, Dali Benssalah,

Juliette Binoche Juliette Binoche (; born 9 March 1964) is a French actress. She has appeared in more than 60 films, particularly in French and English, and has been the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Juliette Binoche, numerous accolades, ...

Dany Boon Dany Boon (; born Daniel Farid Hamidou on 26 June 1966) is a French actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. Starting out as a comedian during the 1990s, he found success in 2008 as an actor and director in the film comedy '' Welcome to ...

Bastien Bouillon Bastien Bouillon is a French actor. He has appeared in more than 30 film and television productions since 2009. He is the son of the stage director Gilles Bouillon. In 2023, he received the César Award for Most Promising Actor. He also portraye ...

Audrey Diwan Audrey Diwan (; born 1980) is a French film director of Lebanese origin. Prior to becoming a film director, she worked as a journalist and a screenwriter. In 2021, her film ''Happening'' won the Golden Lion at the 78th Venice International Fi ...

, Ana Girardot,

Diane Kruger Diane Kruger (; Heidkrüger; ; born 15 July 1976) is a German actress. Early in her career, she gained worldwide recognition and received the Trophée Chopard from the Cannes Film Festival. Kruger became known for her roles in films such as ...

, Benoît Magimel, Paul Mirabel, Nadia Tereszkiewicz and Jean-Pascal Zadi.

Agnès Jaoui Agnès Jaoui (; born 19 October 1964) is a French actress, screenwriter, film director and singer. Jaoui has won six César Awards, three Lumière Awards, and a Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival. She has received numerous other ...

and

Christopher Nolan Sir Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British and American filmmaker. Known for his Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters with complex storytelling, he is considered a leading filmma ...

each received the

Honorary César The César Award is France's national film award. Recipients are selected by the members of the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of ...

; Nolan's award was presented by

Marion Cotillard Marion Cotillard (; born 30 September 1975) is a French actress who has appeared in both European and Hollywood productions. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Marion Cotillard, various accolades, including an Ac ...

, while Jaoui's was presented by

Jamel Debbouze Jamel Debbouze (; ; born 18 June 1975) is a Moroccan-French actor, comedian, screenwriter, film producer and director. Best known for his stand-up comedy sketches, he also worked with director Alain Chabat in several films and other notable Fren ...

. In designing the official poster for the 49th ceremony, the Académie chose to feature a still frame taken from

Michel Ocelot Michel Ocelot (; born 27 October 1943) is a French writer, designer, storyboard artist and director of animated films and television programs (formerly also animator, background artist, narrator and other roles in earlier works) and a former pre ...

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

'' La Belle Fille et le Sorcier'' (1992), in an ode to

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

and short films. The nominations were announced on 24 January 2024. '' The Animal Kingdom'' led with 12 nominations, followed by ''

Anatomy of a Fall ''Anatomy of a Fall'' () is a 2023 French psychological legal drama film, directed by Justine Triet from a screenplay she co-wrote with Arthur Harari. It stars Sandra Hüller as a writer trying to prove her innocence in her husband's death. A ...

'' and ''

All Your Faces ''All Your Faces'' () is a 2023 French drama film written and directed by Jeanne Herry. It stars an ensemble cast, which includes Birane Ba, Leïla Bekhti, Dali Benssalah, Élodie Bouchez, Suliane Brahim, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Adèle Exarcho ...

'' with 11 and nine, respectively. ''Anatomy of a Fall'' went on to win six awards, more than any other film in the ceremony, including Best Film. For her work on the film,

Justine Triet Justine Triet (; born 17 July 1978) is a French film director, screenwriter, and editor. She has received several awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, a Palme d'Or, three César Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Triet started her ...

became the second woman in history to win

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * As ...

. Before nominations were announced, the Académie shared in a

communiqué A press release (also known as a media release) is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing new information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public releas ...

that they would extend and expand their fledgling protocols, which were placed during the previous ceremony, that governed how the body handles people who are under judicial investigation for violent crimes. In the wake of a second wave of the #MeToo movement in

French cinema The cinema of France comprises the film industry and its film productions, whether made within the nation of France or by French film production companies abroad. It is the oldest and largest precursor of national cinemas in Europe, with prima ...

, Judith Godrèche, who accused directors

Benoît Jacquot Benoît Jacquot (; born 5 February 1947) is a French film director and screenwriter who has had a varied career in European cinema. In July 2024, Jacquot was charged with rape, including of a minor, and was barred from directing and having cont ...

and

Jacques Doillon Jacques Doillon (; born 15 March 1944) is a French film director and screenwriter. Some actresses to break through are Fanny Bastien, Sandrine Bonnaire, Judith Godrèche, Marianne Denicourt, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Juliette Binoche. Earl ...

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

, gave a speech on

sexual violence Sexual violence is any harmful or unwanted Human sexual activity, sexual act, an attempt to obtain a sexual act through violence or coercion, or an act directed against a person's sexuality without their consent, by any individual regardless of ...

and addressed the French film industry's

omertà Omertà () is a Southern Italian code of silence and code of honor and conduct that places importance on silence in the face of questioning by authorities or outsiders; non-cooperation with authorities, the government, or outsiders, especially ...

around #MeToo.

Winners and nominees

Films with multiple nominations

The following films received multiple nominations:

Films with multiple wins

The following films received multiple wins:

Nominations by distributor

Wins by distributor

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cesar Awards, 2024

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...