A novelty that the organizers of the César appreciate and perpetuate. Last year, the high mass of French cinema innovated by entrusting the presentation of the evening, not to a Mr. Loyal in the wake of Antoine de Caunes or Florence Foresti, but to a dozen actors who took turns on the scene. In the hope of energizing the whole. The system is renewed for the 49th edition of the César, scheduled for February 23.
The lucky ones are: Ariane Ascaride, Bérénice Bejo, Dali Benssalah, Juliette Binoche, Dany Boon, Bastien Bouillon, Audrey Diwan, Ana Girardot, Diane Kruger, Benoît Magimel, Paul Mirabel, Nadia Tereszkiewicz and Jean-Pascal Zadi. They will present the next César ceremony, under the presidency of Valérie Lemercier.
“This collective mobilization is intended to serve a rhythmic and joyful ceremony, with the desire to highlight the diversity and richness of cinema in France. Artists, Masters and Mistresses of Ceremonies, will share their love of cinema and celebrate the time of this great event, all the talents who will have marked this year,” promises Canal, broadcaster of the gala in its press release. To see, the 2023 edition remained very long, despite a nice moment of grace: the surprise appearance of Brad Pitt to present the Honorary César to his favorite director David Fincher.
Benoît Magimel is back. He had already carried out the exercise last year. Juliette Binoche stood out in the public for her annoyance. The star of The English Patient got up from his seat following a witticism from Djamel Debbouze. The one who was part of the troupe of presenters had made fun of the lack of admissions to arthouse films. “With all the liberties that stand-up can take, arthouse films are fragile, difficult to make. Sorry, Jamel with all the respect and love I have for you, and you know it, I do not agree with letting you denigrate this cinema, nor those who take the risk of doing so, it “It’s too easy” Juliette Binoche explained the next day on Instagram.
The presence of Benoît Magimel and Juliette Binoche does not lack panache. And reflects a certain fair play. The actors, ex-spouses, are starring in The Passion of Dodin Bouffant. The culinary fresco of Trần Anh Hùng became the collateral victim of the controversy of the French film sent to the Oscars by the CNC. The committee of seven professionals of the seventh art preferred The Passion by Dodin Bouffant to the Palme d’Or Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet. Some saw it as a sanction against the director’s anti-government speech on the Cannes podium. The rest, everyone knows. The Passion of Dodin Bouffant received no nominations, while Anatomy of a Fall garnered five prestigious nominations in the general Oscar categories.
Also read: From Cannes to the Oscars, how Anatomy of a Fall is conquering the world
The Césars, who selected Justine Triet’s legal thriller eleven times, also did not favor Trần Anh Hùng’s pot-au-feu recipe, which won the Best Director Award at Cannes. The film landed only three technical nominations and none for these two stars. Will Benoît Magimel and Juliette Binoche dare on stage to evoke the controversy which is tearing apart the French seventh art? Will they attempt a grand reconciliation?
The 49th César ceremony will be broadcast on Friday February 23 at 8:45 p.m. on Canal, unencrypted, live and exclusively from the Olympia. Among the expected moments of emotion: the Honorary Césars awarded to Agnès Jaoui and to the American-British director Christopher Nolan, the Oppenheimer maestro and new king of Hollywood.
