“The Animal Kingdom” ahead of “Anatomy of a Fall”, Virginie Efira nominated for the sixth time in the “best actress” category, three women in the running for the César for best director… Here's what to remember from the nominations at the César, the ceremony of which will take place on February 23 at 8:45 p.m., on Canal +.
“The Animal Kingdom” in pole position…
We expected to find “The Animal Kingdom” very well placed in the 2024 César nominations… But perhaps not ahead of “Anatomy of a Fall” by Justine Triet which, in addition to winning the Palme d’Or, won was the big winner of the Prix Lumières on Monday evening and was nominated in five categories at the Oscars.
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However, Thomas Cailley's film, which features a father and his teenager confronted with an epidemic which transforms certain humans into animal creatures, obtains twelve nominations.
Particularly in the categories “best actor” (for Romain Duris), “best original screenplay”, “best direction” and “best film”.
… Right in front of “Anatomy of a Fall”
The feature film, which recorded nearly 1.1 million admissions in theaters, is ahead of “Anatomy of a Fall” (11 nominations), “I will always see your faces” by Jeanne Herry (9 nominations), “the Goldman Trial” by Cédric Kahn (8 nominations) and “Scrapyard Dog” by Jean-Baptiste Durand (7 nominations).
If “The Animal Kingdom” comes first in this first round of the Césars, this does not predict the number of statuettes it will collect on February 23: in 2023, “The Innocent” by Louis Garrel had accumulated eleven nominations before leaving with two statuettes, while “Night of the 12th” by Dominik Moll obtained ten nominations and six trophies.
And six for Virginie Efira!
Nominated for her performance in “Love and the Forests” by Valérie Donzelli, the 46-year-old actress received her sixth citation in the “best actress” category since 2017. In 2023, Virginie Efira won the César for “ See Paris again” by Alice Winocour.
This time, she will have several very serious competitors, first and foremost the German Sandra Hüller, lead actress in “Anatomy of a Fall”.
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One thing is certain: Efira will not be nominated for a César next year because she will not appear in any film in 2024. The actress, who gave birth to her second child at the end of August, moved away for a few month of film sets.
Four actresses from the same film in the same category
In the “best supporting actress” category, we find Leïla Bekhti, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Élodie Bouchez and Miou-Miou… all for “I will always see your faces” by Jeanne Herry.
The four partners in this choral drama will be competing against Galatea Bellugi, nominated for her role in “Scrapyard Dog”.
Two brothers for one Caesar
Sons of actors Irène Jacob and Jérôme Kircher, Paul Kircher, 22, and Samuel Kircher, 18, are nominated for the César for “best male revelation”.
The first plays a disoriented teenager in “The Animal Kingdom”, the second a kid who sleeps with his stepmother in “Last Summer” by Catherine Breillat.
Paul Kircher is nominated in the “best male revelation” category for his role in the film “Animal Kingdom”.
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Voters will have to choose between one or the other brother and three other candidates: Julien Frison (for “The Marguerite Theorem”), Milo Machado-Graner (for “Anatomy of a Fall”) and… Raphaël Quenard (for " Dog of the breakage ").
Triple blow for Raphaël Quenard
Starring in seven films in 2023, the 32-year-old actor burst onto the screen in “Scrapyard Dog”, which earned him a nomination in the “best male revelation” category, as well as in “Yannick” by Quentin Dupieux, for which he is cited in the “best actor” category.
Since 2016, six years after Tahar Rahim won two trophies for “Un Prophète”, the Césars have modified their regulations and made it impossible to combine the Césars for “best actor” and “best male revelation”.
But given that Raphaël Quenard is nominated for two different films, he could very well win these two statuettes on February 23.
And maybe even three: the thirty-year-old is also nominated for “The Actor, or the surprising virtue of incomprehension”, a short documentary film that he co-directed.
Three women in the best director category
“Where are the directors?
» exclaimed Virginie Efira when receiving her César last year.
In 2023, none had been nominated in the “best achievement” category.
This time, alongside Cédric Kahn (“The Goldman Trial”) and Thomas Cailley (“The Animal Kingdom”), there are three female filmmakers: Justine Triet for “Anatomy of a Fall”, Catherine Breillat for “ Last Summer” and Jeanne Herry for “I will always see your faces”.
And the underdog is… “Scrapyard Dog”
The film did not attract crowds to theaters, with only 83,000 admissions.
But “Scrapyard Dog”, Jean-Baptiste Durand’s first production, has no less than seven nominations.
Including those for “male revelation”, “best original screenplay”, “best first film” and even “best film” (the most prestigious category).
The feature film features two childhood friends who live in a small village in the south of France and meet every day in one of the deserted squares to smoke, drink beers and carry around their boredom while dreaming of a better life... until the arrival of a young girl in the village.