César Awards 2023: Full List of Winners is Here

The 2023 César Awards were presented Friday. The 48th edition of the award show took place on February 24, 2023, at the Olympia in Paris. The awards are held every year to honor the best French films.

This year, the César Awards were hosted by actors Emmanuelle Devos, Léa Drucker, Eye Haïdara, Leïla Bekhti, Jérôme Commandeur, Ahmed Sylla, Jamel Debbouze, Alex Lutz and Raphaël Personnaz. Continue reading further to know the names of the celebs who walked back home with a trophy in one hand.

Which movie won the award for best picture at the César Awards 2023?

Ladies and gentlemen, the 2023 César Award for best film went to Dominik Moll’s brooding procedural thriller The Night of the 12th. Not only this, but the movie also won in other categories like best director, best male newcomer, best supporting actor, best adapted screenplay, and best sound.

For those of you who are unaware, let us share with you, the film The Night of the 12th which opened at Cannes in the Premieres section revolves around two cops trying to solve the gruesome murder of a young woman.

The movie The Night Of The 12th stars Bastien Bouillon, Bouli Lanners, Anouk Grinberg,  Théo Cholbi, Johann Dionnet, Thibault Evrard, Julien Frison, Paul Jeanson, Mouna Soualem and Pauline Serieys.

Caroline Benjo, who produced The Night of the 12th with Carole Scotta and Simon Arnal, gave a searing speech denouncing the violence against women. He said, “When Dominic and Gilles came to us to make this film it was obvious that we (needed to address this issue) and that the perspective of men on this matter was crucial, and that filmmakers had to tell this story.”

Benjo went on to say, “A few days ago, Dominic cited the philosopher Geneviève Fraisse during an interview saying (…) that #MeToo has liberated the voices, and now what’s needed is to liberate the listening.”

Who were the other notable winners of the night?

This year, Louis Garrel’s comedy The Innocent, led the list of nominees with a total of 11 nods. The film bagged the award for best original screenplay for the director and co-writers Tanguy Viel and Naïla Guiguet. In addition to this, Tár star Noemie Merlant secured the César Award for best supporting actress.

Paris Memories star Virginie Efira won the award for best actress, meanwhile, Benoit Magimel nabbed the trophy for best actor for his brilliant performance in the movie Pacifiction.

Forever Young actress Nadia Tereszkiewicz took home the César Award for best female newcomer. On the other hand, Bastien Bouillon who starred in the film The Night of the 12th walked away with the best male newcomer award.

Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s film The Beasts picked up the award for best foreign film, meanwhile, Amélie Bonnin won the César Award for best short for film Partir Un Jour. Elisabeth Subrin’s Maria Schneider, 1983 secured the award for best short documentary.

Urška Djukić and Emilie Pigeard’s La Vie Sexuelle De Mamie bagged the award for best animated short. American director David Fincher was also honored at the 2023 César Awards.

Individuals indicated for sexual violence cannot attend France’s César Awards

Yeah, you read that right. Not long ago, the French César Academy, the French equivalent to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, voted to not allow anyone who has been indicted or sentenced for acts of sexual or sexist violence to attend this year’s event, however, they can still be nominated and win a César.

The move saw the light of day after Forever Young actor Sofiane Bennacer made the initial César shortlist in the best newcomer category. Later on, he was dropped from the list after it was revealed he had been indicted on multiple charges of rape and violence.

Then, the organization stated, “By respect for victims (even alleged ones in the case of an indictment or a non-definitive sentence) it has been decided to not highlight people who are either indicted or sentenced for acts of violence, notably sexual or sexist violence.”

Here’s the complete list of César Award winners

Best Film
Forever Young, dir. Valeria Bruni Tedeschi producers: Alexandra Henochsberg, Patrick Sobelman
Rise, dir. Cédric Klapisch producer: Bruno Levy
The Innocent, dir. Louis Garrel producer: Anne-Dominique Toussaint
The Night of the 12th, dir. Dominik Moll producers: Caroline Benjo, Barbara Letellier, Carole Scotta, Simon Arnal (WINNER)
Pacification, dir Albert Serra, producer: Pierre Olivier Bardet

Best Director
Cédric Klapisch for Rise
Louis Garrel for The Innocent
Cédric Jimenz for November
Dominik Moll for The Night of the 12th (WINNER)
Albert Serra for Pacification

Best Actress
Fanny Ardant for The Young Lovers
Juliette Binoche for Between Two Worlds
Laure Calamy for Full Time
Virginie Efira for Paris Memories (WINNER)
Adèle Exarchopoulos for Zero Fucks Given

Best Actor
Jean Dujardin for November
Louis Garrel for The Innocent
Vincent Macaigne for Diary of a Fleeting Affair
Benoît Magimel for Pacification (WINNER)
Denis Ménochet for Peter von Kant