This was the main controversy that agitated French cinema after the final list of César nominations fell: five filmmakers nominated in the “best director” category… and no women. This, despite the notable films signed by female directors last year: “Revoir Paris” by Alice Winocour, “les Enfants des autres” by Rebecca Zlotowski, “les Amandiers” by Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, “Annie Colère by Blandine Lenoir…
Moreover, from the start of the evening, Noémie Merlant recalled this astonishing absence of nominations by picking up her César for best actress in a supporting role on the stage of the Olympia this Friday evening, thus concluding her speech of thanks: “I’m thinking of all the directors who aren’t here tonight and who should be…” Just like Virginie Efira, later in the evening, saying “where are the directors? “, thanking all those with whom she worked…
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So, screwed up, the evening, for women filmmakers and professionals of the French seventh art? We quickly realized that was not the case. Admittedly, this absence of nominations in the queen category of the feature film remains unfortunate but, over the course of the evening, no less than six directors took the stage. First Alice Diop, César for best first film (even if she has previously directed documentaries) for the very moving “Saint Omer”. It’s already won for a fiction feature film. And hop, a few minutes later, another: Michaela Pavlatova for “My Afghan Family”, best animated feature film. Four others followed them: Amélie Bonin, for “Partir un jour”, best short fiction film; Urska Djukic and Emilie Pigeard for “Grandma’s Sexual Life”, best animated short; Elisabeth Subrin for “Maria Schneider, 1983”, best documentary short dedicated to the actress of “Last Tango in Paris”. These are less highlighted categories, but in these, women took almost everything.
This was also the case for several so-called “technical” Césars: Gigi Lepage rewarded for the costumes of “Simone”; Irène Drésel, the first woman in the history of the ceremony to receive the César for best original music for “A plein temps”, joined by Mathilde Van de Moorte, elected best editor for the same film. If we add the three actresses awarded in the categories “best actress”, “best female supporting role” and “best female hope”, the harvest amounts to 12 awards: a beautiful evening for the women of the seventh art, not to say revenge.
Which, it is true, would have been complete if, like last year, for Valérie Lemercier, Julia Ducournau and Audrey Diwan, directors of feature films had been greeted with nominations. Remember that to date, only one woman has won the César for best director: Tonie Marshall with “Vénus Beauté (Institut)”… It was in the year 2000.