The 51st César du cinéma ceremony is being held Thursday evening in Paris. Despite the ten nominations for “Nouvelle Vague”, the list looks more open than ever in the absence of incontestable success in France.

Published on: 02/26/2026 - 08:49 Modified on: 02/26/2026 - 12:35

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Who to succeed “Emilia Perez”? Despite the ten nominations for “Nouvelle Vague”, the Césars, awarded on Thursday February 26, look particularly indecisive this year in the absence of incontestable success in French cinemas.

Five films in the running

Revisiting the legendary filming of “Breathless”, the black and white feature film by American Richard Linklater is a declaration of love to the movement which revolutionized cinema at the end of the 1950s and is aiming for the best film prize.

It faces "L'Attachement" by Carine Tardieu, about a woman who bonds with her next-door neighbor and her children, "Dossier 137" by Dominik Moll, devoted to an investigation by the police into a police blunder, "La Petite petite" by Hafsia Herzi, about a Muslim torn between her faith and the awakening of her desire for women, and "Un Simple Accident" by Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, a manifesto against arbitrariness and the violence of the Islamic Republic, filmed clandestinely in Iran and winner of the Palme d'Or at the last Cannes Film Festival.

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These five works will be decided during a ceremony hosted by Benjamin Lavernhe.

Another film in sight, "L'Inconnu de la Grande Arche", by Stéphane Demoustier, on the little-known destiny of the Danish architect who designed this emblematic building in the La Défense business district in the 1980s, won numerous nominations in the acting categories.

See alsoDo the films nominated for the 2026 César pass the climate test?

Claes Bang, Danish actor who plays Johan Otto von Spreckelsen, the architect consumed by this pharaonic construction site, is in the running for the César for best actor.

He will be opposed to Laurent Lafitte, who plays François-Marie Banier in "The Richest Woman in the World", a feature film on the intrusion of this photographer with the billionaire Liliane Bettencourt.

The latter is played by Isabelle Huppert, nominated for the César for best actress, notably opposite Léa Drucker ("Dossier 137") and Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi ("L'Attachement").

Jim Carrey will have an honorary Cesar

The Academy will also present an honorary César to Jim Carrey for his entire career. The 64-year-old actor, who has been acting less in recent years, is one of the best-known faces of American comedy, thanks to his roles in “The Mask” and “Ace Ventura”.

His performances in dramatic films such as "The Truman Show", "Man on the Moon" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" have also earned him accolades and critical recognition.

Also read “I can only live in Iran”, the promise of Jafar Panahi after his clandestine film

Several personalities from the 7th Art are expected to present prizes, starting with Canadian director David Cronenberg ("The Fly", "Les Promesses de l'ombre").

The ceremony could serve as a relay for the world of cinema to carry certain fights.

On Sunday, 4,000 actors, actresses and filmmakers, for example, signed a forum denouncing the "regular plunder" of their work by artificial intelligence tools.

Some new faces of French cinema are expected, after the success of their films in 2025.

This is the case of the director of “Partir un jour” Amélie Bonnin, whose film is nominated in four categories, just like “Arco” by Ugo Bienvenu, also nominated for the best animated film prize at the Oscars.

Finally, a face very well known to the French public despite everything, nominated for the César for the first time at the age of 62: Franck Dubosc is a contender for the trophy for best original screenplay for his film "A Bear in the Jura", one of the biggest successes of French cinema last year.

With AFP

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