Paris (AFP)

Roman Polanski's film "J'accuse", whose release was disrupted by a new rape accusation against the director, leads the nominations for the César 2020, vying for twelve prizes, announced Wednesday the Academy of César.

Follow "Les Misérables" by Ladj Ly, a punch film about the suburbs and "La Belle Epoque" by Nicolas Bedos, with eleven nominations each.

The Academy of Caesar "is not a body that must have moral positions," said the president of the Academy Alain Terzian, asked about Roman Polanski after the announcement of these appointments. "Unless I am mistaken, 1.5 million French people went to see his film. Question them," he added.

Historical thriller on the Dreyfus affair, "J'accuse" is notably named in the queens categories of best director and best film, alongside "Misérables" by Ladj Ly, "Grâce à Dieu" by François Ozon or "Portrait of the young girl on fire" by Céline Sciamma.

For the César award for best actress, Adèle Haenel and Noémie Merlant in "Portrait of the young girl on fire" are among the nominees, facing Anaïs Demoustier in "Alice and the mayor", Eva Green in "Proxima", Chiara Mastroianni in "Room 212", Doria Tillier in "La belle epoque" and Karin Viard in "Sweet song".

© 2020 AFP