Poster of Fatima

César 2016: and the winners are...

By Justine Frétigné
01/03/2016

The 41st César ceremony was held at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on 26th February. The ceremony was presided over by the director Claude Lelouch and hosted by the humorist Florence Foresti. 

Here are the lists of winners in the main categories:

Best Film

• Dheepan

• Fatima - WINNER
• The Measure of a Man (La Loi du marché)
• Marguerite

• My King (Mon Roi
)
• Mustang
• La Tête haute
• My Golden Days (Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse)

With a total of 3 César awards, Fatima was also awarded Best Film. The prize was given to its director Philippe Faucon by the actress Juliette Binoche. Very moved, he thanked Soria Zeroual, Zita Hanrot and Kenza Noah Aïche who played the main roles, and paid tribute to the actress Loubna Abidar, who was attacked a few months ago in Morocco for having played a prostitute in Much Loved. 

Best Actor

• 

  Vincent Lindon at the César 2016
  Jean-Pierre Bacri - La Vie très privée de monsieur Sim
• Vincent Cassel - My King (Mon Roi
)
• François Damiens - Les Cowboys
• Antonythasan Jesuthasan - Dheepan

• Gérard Depardieu - Valley of Love
• Vincent Lindon - The Measure of a Man (La Loi du marché
) - WINNER
• Fabrice Luchini - L'Hermine

After 5 nominations in this category for The crisis (La crise), My little business (Ma petite entreprise), Those who remain (Ceux qui restent), Welcome and A few hours of spring (Quelques heures de printemps), Vincent Lindon was awarded the César for Best Actor for The measure of a man, in which he plays a security guard who tries to make ends meet after a long period of unemployment.

Best Actress

• 

  Catherine Frot at the César 2016
  Emmanuelle Bercot - My King (Mon Roi)

• Catherine Deneuve - La Tête haute

• Catherine Frot - Marguerite 
- WINNER
• Loubna Abidar - Much Loved

• Cécile de France - Summertime (La Belle Saison
)
• Soria Zeroual - Fatima

• Isabelle Hupert - Valley of Love

Catherine Frot had already been nominated in this category for La dilettante, Chaos, La tourneuse de pages, Le crime est notre affaire, Odette Toulemonde and Les saveurs du palais... She was at long last awarded the César for Best Actress for Marguerite! After having sung a few lines, she thanked the director of the film Xavier Giannoli, who "invented, or rather, re-invented the character of Marguerite". 

Best Newcomer (female)

• 

  Zita Hanrot at the César 2016
  Lou Leroy-Lecollinet - My Golden Days (Trois Souvenirs de ma jeunesse)

• Diane Rouxel - La Tête Haute

• Zita Hanrot - Fatima - WINNER
• Sara Giraudeau - Les Bêtises

• Camille Cottin - Connasse, princesse des cœurs

Zita Hanrot was given her award by Carole Bouquet. She thanked the director of the film Philippe Faucon for his "precious and accurate films". In Fatima, she plays a young medical student.

Best Newcomer (male)

• 

  Rod Paradot the César 2016
  Swann Arlaud - The Anarchists (Les Anarchistes)
• Quentin Dolmaire - My Golden Days (Trois Souvenirs de ma jeunesse
)
• Felix Moati - All About Them (A Trois on y va)
• Finegan Oldfield - Les Cowboys

• Rod Paradot - La Tête Haute - WINNER

Rod Paradot was given his award by the actress and singer Louane Emera, who won the same award in the female category for her role in The Bélier Family last year. Rod, 19, was extremely moved, and gave a very touching speech during which he thanked his family and his school tutor. 

Best Supporting Actor

• Michel Fau - Marguerite

• Louis Garrel - My King (Mon Roi
)
• Benoit Magimel - La Tête Haute
 - WINNER
• André Marcon - Marguerite

• Vincent Rottiers – Dheepan

Benoît Magimel was awarded the César for Best Supporting Actor for La tête haute, in which he plays an educator desperately trying to help Malony (Rod Paradot). 

Best Supporting Actress

• Sara Forestier - La Tête haute

• Agnès Jaoui - The Sweet Escape (Comme un avion)
• Noémie Lvovsky - Summertime (La Belle saison)

• Karin Viard - 21 Nuits avec Pattie
• Sidse Babett Knudsen - L’Hermine - WINNER

The Danish actress Sidse Babett Knudsen was rewarded for her role in L'Hermine, in which she plays opposite Fabrice Lucchini. This year, she will be seen on screen opposite Benoit Magimel in Emmanuelle Bercot's new film La fille de Brest. 

Best Director

• 

  Poster of My Golden Days
  Jacques Audiard - Dheepan

• Stéphane Brizé - The Measure of a Man (La Loi du Marché
)
• Xavier Giannoli - Marguerite

• Maïwenn - My King (Mon Roi
)
• Deniz Gamze Ergüven - Mustang

• Emmanuelle Bercot - La Tête haute

• Arnaud Desplechin - My Golden Days (Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse) - WINNER

Arnaud Desplechin had been nominated in this category three times before for Kings and Queen (Rois et Reine), A Christmas tale (Un conte de Noël) and Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a plains Indian. He finally received a  César award for his latest film My Golden Days (Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse). 

Best First Film


• 

  Poster of Mustang
  L'Affaire SK1
 - directed by Frédéric Tellier
• Les Cowboys - directed by Thomas Bidegain
• 
Mustang
 - directed by Deniz Gamze Ergüven - WINNER
• Ni le ciel ni la Terre - directed by Clément Cogitore
• All Three of Us (Nous trois ou rien) - directed by Kheiron

Deniz Gamze Ergüven has not won an Oscar (yet) although she was nominated for one, but she has now won a César, and this is pretty amazing!

Best Foreign Film

•  

  Poster of Birdman
   Birdman
 - directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (United States) - WINNER
• Saül Fia
 - directed by Laszlo Nemes (Hungary)
• Je suis mort mais j’ai des amis
 - directed by Guillaume Malandrin et Stéphane Malandrin (Belgium, France)
• Mia Madre
 - directed by Nanni Moretti (Italy, France)
• Taxi Teheran
 - directed by Jafar Panahi (Iran)
• Le Tout Nouveau Testament
 - directed by Jaco Van Dormael (Belgium, France, Luxembourg)
• Youth - directed by Paolo Sorrentino (Italy, France, Switzerland, United Kingdom)

Last but not least, Alejandro González Iñárritu received a César for Birdman, who had already won, among others, four Oscars in 2015.