France's Cesar Awards Nominations: Animal Kingdom, Anatomy of a ...

Thomas Cailley’s supernatural drama “The Animal Kingdom” and Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall” are leading the race at the 49th Cesar Awards with 12 and 11 nominations, respectively.

Triet’s movie, which just garnered an impressive five Oscar nominations, and “The Animal Kingdom,” which opened at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and won a prize, will vie for top Cesar awards including best director and film.

“The Animal Kingdom” is an ambitious film that marks a departure from France’s cinema tradition of social realism. It’s both a creature-filled dystopia and a father-and-son drama (played by Romain Duris and Paul Kircher, both nominated for Cesar Awards), weaving some contemporary concerns over the future of mankind. It’s produced by Pierre Guyard at Nord Ouest Films and co-produced by Artemis.

“Anatomy of a Fall,” meanwhile stars Sandra Hüller — the German actor nominated for Cesar, Oscar and BAFTA awards — as a novelist who is put on trial following the mysterious death of her husband at their remote chalet. The movie, which already won a pair of Golden Globes, is produced by Marie-Ange Luciani at Les Films de Pierre and David Thion at Les Films Pelleas.

The other major Cesar contenders this year are Jeanne Herry’s “All Your Faces,” produced by Hugo Selignac’s Chi-Fou-Mi and Alain Attal’s Les Films du Tresor, and Cédric Khan’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight opener “The Goldman Case,” produced by Benjamin Elalouf at Moonshaker Films. “The Goldman Case,” based on the 1976 trial of radical criminal Pierre Goldman, feels timely as it deals with antisemitism, racial discrimination and flaws in the judicial system. Arthur Harari, the actor-filmmaker who co-wrote “Anatomy of a Fall” with Triet (his partner), also stars in “The Goldman Case” and is nominated for his supporting role in the film.

“All Your Faces,” which also struck a chord among Cesar Academy members, revolves around perpetrators and victims of offenses who confront each other under a restorative justice plan. Four of the five slots in the best supporting female category went to “All Your faces” actresses: Adele Exarchopoulos (“Blue Is the Warmest Color”), Leila Bekhti (“La Source”), Miou-Miou (“The Science of Sleep”) and Elodie Bouchez (“Simone: Woman of the Century”).

As previously announced, “Oppenheimer” director Christopher Nolan, alongside Agnes Jaoui, a beloved French actor, screenwriter and filmmaker, will receive honorary Cesar Awards during the upcoming ceremony, which will be held at Olympia Concert Hall on Feb. 23.

Below is the full list of Cesar Awards nominations.

Best Film“Anatomy of a Fall,” Justine Triet“Junkyard Dog,” Jean-Baptiste Durand“All Your Faces,” Jeanne Herry“The Goldman Case,” Cédric Kahn“The Animal Kingdom,” Thomas Cailley

Best DirectorJustine Triet, “Anatomy of a Fall”Catherine Breillat, “Last Summer”Jeanne Herry, “All Your Faces”Cédric Kahn, “The Goldman Case”Thomas Cailley, “The Animal Kingdom”

Best ActressMarion Cotillard, “Little Blue Girl”Léa Drucker, “Last Summer”Virginie Efira, “Just The Two Of Us”Hafsia Herzi, “The Rapture”Sandra Hüller, “Anatomy of a Fall”

Best ActorRomain Duris, “The Animal Kingdom”Benjamin Lavernhe, “L’Abbé Pierre – A Century of Devotion”Melvil Poupaud, “Just The Two Of Us”Raphaël Quenard, “Yannik”Arieh Worthalter, “The Goldman Case”

Best Supporting ActorLeila Bekhti, “All Your Faces”Galatea Bellugi, “Junkyard Dog”Élodie Bouchez, “All Your Faces”Adèle Exarchopoulos, “All Your Faces”Miou Miou, “All Your Faces”

Best Supporting ActorSwann Arlaud, “Anatomy Of A Fall”Anthony Bajon, Junkyard DogArthur Harari, “The Goldman Case”Pio Marmaï, “Yannick”Antoine Reinartz, “Anatomy of a Fall”

Female RevelationCeleste Brunnquell, “No Love Lost”Kim Higelin, “Consent”Suzanne Jouannet, “The Royal Way”Rebecca Marder, “Grand Expectations”Ella Rumpf, “Marguerite’s Theorem”

Male RevelationJulien Frison, “Marguerite’s Theorem”Paul Kircher, “The Animal Kingdom”Samuel Kircher,  “Last Summer”Milo Machado Graner, “Anatomy of a Fall”Raphaël Quenard, “Junkyard Dog”

Best Original ScreenplayJustine Triet, Arthur Harari, “Anatomy of a Fall”Jean-Baptiste Durand, “Junkyard Dog”Jeanne Herry, “All Your Faces”Nathalie Hertzberg, Cédric Khan, “The Goldman Case”Thomas Cailley, Pauline Munier, “The Animal Kingdom”

Best Adapted ScreenplayValérie Donzelli, Audrey Diwan, “Just The Two Of Us”Vanessa Filho, “Consent”Catherine Breillat, “Last Summer”