The César for best film was awarded Thursday to “L’Attachement” by director Carine Tardieu, while Richard Linklater won the statuette for best director for “Nouvelle Vague”. Laurent Lafitte and Léa Drucker were respectively crowned best actor and best actress.

Published on: 02/27/2026 - 00:08 Modified on: 02/27/2026 - 07:26

The 51st César ceremony on Thursday February 26 rewarded the feature film “Nouvelle Vague” with four prizes, while “L'Attachement” won three trophies including best film, during an evening which paid tribute to the Iranian people, victims of bloody repression.

From the start of this edition, its president Camille Cottin wanted to dedicate it "to all the peoples who, in the world, fight for freedom", while certain guests wore a pin in solidarity with the Iranian people on the red carpet.

The Franco-Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, who presented the prize for best original screenplay, then paid tribute dressed in black to "the Iranian people who have been fighting for decades for their freedom, empty-handed, often alone, armed with their courage and a culture among the oldest in the world".

“Nouvelle Vague”, the most awarded film

The Iranian director Jafar Panahi, Palme d'Or winner at the last Cannes Film Festival and whose film was a contender for the César for best feature film, was present in the room. He was sentenced to one year in prison in his country.

Vimala Pons and Pierre Lottin, both awarded a César for a supporting role, also sent a message of solidarity with the Iranians by receiving their trophy.

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The evening finally crowned “Nouvelle Vague”, the most awarded film with four statuettes, which revisits the filming of the legendary “Breathless” at the end of the 1950s.

Richard Linklater won the César for best director. “This is an almost overwhelming honor for me,” thanked the American filmmaker, absent and speaking through the voice of actor Guillaume Marbeck, Jean-Luc Godard on screen.

The other big winner is “L’Attachement” by Carine Tardieu, awarded three times, including the distinction of best film. “The plot is based on everything that connects us to each other in this society which erects walls almost everywhere,” expressed the 52-year-old director. His film tells the story of a woman's relationship with her neighbor's children following the death of their mother and the place she gradually takes in their lives.

Second Cesar for Léa Drucker

Among the actors, two established figures of French cinema were distinguished. Léa Drucker, for her role as an IGPN investigator in “Dossier 137”, received her second César for best actress. A performance performed only by Isabelle Huppert, Catherine Deneuve, Nathalie Baye, Romy Schneider and Sabine Azéma before her.

Among the men, Laurent Lafitte received the very first César of his career at the age of 52 for his flamboyant role inspired by the photographer François-Marie Banier in “The richest woman in the world” with Isabelle Huppert as Liliane Bettencourt.

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The evening was also the occasion for a tribute to actor Jim Carrey. French director Michel Gondry, who gave him one of his most notable roles in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", presented him with an honorary César. The 64-year-old actor, known for some of the most popular comedies of the 1990s ("The Mask", "Ace Ventura", Dumb and Dumber"), thanked the Academy in a speech entirely in French.

Brigitte Bardot booed

A brief tribute was also paid to Brigitte Bardot, cinema legend of the 1950s and 1960s, who died on December 28 at the age of 91. A gesture which was greeted with some boos, while the actress was close to the far right.

The ceremony, as usual, served as a relay for the world of cinema to carry out certain battles, in the presence of the new Minister of Culture Catherine Pgard, appointed Thursday. The actor Emmanuel Curtil, voice actor and French voice of Jim Carrey, notably asked the minister for a meeting to discuss the protection of the work of artists in the face of artificial intelligence.

Finally, a face very well known to the French public won the very first César of his career: Franck Dubosc won best original screenplay for his film “A Bear in the Jura”.

With AFP

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