César Awards facts for kids

Quick facts for kids César Awards
The César Award logo
Presented by	Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma
Country	France
First awarded	April 3, 1976; 49 years ago (1976-04-03)

The César Award is the most important film award in France. It's like the Oscars for French movies! The awards are given out at a special event called the Nuit des César (Night of the Césars). The first awards ceremony happened in 1976.

Film experts and professionals choose the movies and people who are nominated. The French Ministry of Culture also supports these awards. The big award show happens every February in Paris and is shown on TV across France. The Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma started the César Awards in 1975.

The César Award is the top honor in French filmmaking. It's similar to the Molière Award for plays and the Victoires de la Musique for music in France.

A person named Georges Cravenne created the award. He also started the Molière Award for theater. The award gets its name from the sculptor César Baldaccini (1921–1998), who designed the trophy.

The most recent awards, the 49th César Awards, took place on February 23, 2024. The movie Anatomy of a Fall, directed by Justine Triet, won the award for Best Film.

History of the César Awards

In 1974, Georges Cravenne started the Academy of Arts and Techniques of Cinema. His goal was to create a French award like the American Oscars. This award would celebrate the best movies and achievements in French film.

The first César Awards, also known as the "Night of Caesar," were held on April 3, 1976. The famous actor Jean Gabin was the chairman that night. The award's name comes from the sculptor César, who designed the trophy. It also honors Raimu, a great French actor who played a character named César in some movies.

The César Awards took over from an older award called the Étoile de cristal [fr], which was given out from 1955 to 1975. Other film awards existed before the Césars, but they weren't as popular.

At the very first César Awards, 13 awards were given. Today, there are 22 awards in different categories. New awards have been added over the years. These include awards for Most Promising Actor/Actress, Best Documentary, and Best Animated Film. Some older awards, like Best Film Poster, were stopped.

In 2021, two new awards were added: Best Visual Effects and Best Documentary Short Film.

Since 2018, there's a special award called the César du public (Audience César). This award goes to the French movie that earned the most money at the box office. It helps celebrate popular French comedy films.

Josiane Balasko, Daniel Auteuil, Catherine Deneuve, and Karin Viard at the 2000 César Award Ceremony.

The César Trophy

The César Award trophy.

The César trophies are unique sculptures made from compressed metal objects. César Baldaccini, the sculptor, designed them in 1975. He was a friend of Georges Cravenne, who named the awards after him.

These trophies are made from polished bronze. This is different from the Oscars, which are covered in gold. The first César trophy in 1976 looked like a film reel. But in 1977, César Baldaccini showed off the current design. It's an 8 by 8 centimeter (about 3 by 3 inches) compressed metal piece. It weighs 3.6 kilograms (about 8 pounds). The trophies are made in a foundry in Normandy, France.

How Winners Are Chosen

The winners of the César Awards are chosen through two rounds of voting. Film professionals vote by mail. First, they vote to pick the nominees for each award. There are usually three to five nominees per category. Then, they vote again to choose the final winner.

About 4,000 film professionals get to vote. They are divided into 12 groups, like actors, directors, writers, and producers. To become a voter, you usually need to have worked in film for a while. You also need two current members of the Academy to support you. However, past nominees or winners don't need to do this.

To help voters, the Academy sends them a guide to all the French films released that year. They also send DVDs of French movies in December. After the nominees are announced in January, special showings of the nominated films happen at a cinema in Paris. A few weeks before the ceremony, there's also a special lunch for all the nominees at a famous restaurant called Fouquet's.

Award Categories

The César Awards celebrate many different parts of filmmaking.

Main Awards

• Best Film
• Best Director
• Best Actor
• Best Actress
• Best Supporting Actor
• Best Supporting Actress
• Best Male Revelation (for promising new male actors)
• Best Female Revelation (for promising new female actors)
• Best Adaptation (for screenplays based on other works)
• Best Original Screenplay
• Best First Feature Film
• Best Foreign Film
• Best Animated Film
• Best Documentary Film
• Best Fiction Short Film
• Best Animated Short Film
• Best Cinematography (for camera work)
• Best Costume Design
• Best Editing
• Best Music Written for a Film
• Best Production Design (for sets and art direction)
• Best Sound
• Best Documentary Short Film
• Best Visual Effects

Special Awards

These awards honor special achievements or contributions to cinema:

• Honorary Award – given since 1976
• Prix Daniel Toscan du Plantier – since 2008
• Trophée César & Techniques – since 2011
• César & Techniques Innovation Award – since 2018
• César du public – since 2018 (for the most popular French film)

Awards No Longer Given

Some awards have been retired over time:

• Best Film from the European Union
• Best Poster
• Best Producer
• Best Writing (Adaptation or Original)
• Best French Language Film
• Best Short Film

Past Ceremonies and Winners

Many famous people have been involved in the César Awards over the years. Here's a look at some of the past ceremonies, who led them, and which films won Best Film.

Films with Many Awards

Some films have won a lot of César Awards. Here are some of the movies that have won five or more Césars:

Films with Many Nominations

These films received ten or more nominations for César Awards, showing they were highly recognized by the Academy.

Directors with Multiple Wins

Some directors have won the Best Director César Award more than once.

Actors with Many Nominations

Many talented actors and actresses have been nominated for César Awards. Here are some who have received seven or more nominations.

Films Winning "Big Five" Awards

The "Big Five" awards are Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Writing. Only two films have won all five of these major awards:

Winners of the "Big Five"

• The Last Metro (1980)
  • Best Film: François Truffaut
  • Best Director: François Truffaut
  • Best Actor: Gérard Depardieu
  • Best Actress: Catherine Deneuve
  • Best Writing: Suzanne Schiffman and François Truffaut

• Amour (2013)
  • Best Film: Michael Haneke & Margaret Ménégoz
  • Best Director: Michael Haneke
  • Best Actor: Jean-Louis Trintignant
  • Best Actress: Emmanuelle Riva
  • Best Writing: Michael Haneke

See also

In Spanish: Premios César para niños

• Academy Awards
• British Academy Film Awards
• Lumières Award
• Louis Delluc Prize
• Magritte Award