The most prestigious prizes in French cinema are to be awarded on the stage of the Olympia, during a 48th ceremony broadcast from 8:45 p.m. on Canal +.

Who will succeed "Lost Illusions", winner last year with seven statuettes, including that of the best film?

"L'Innocent", a cheerful police comedy by Louis Garrel, with Noémie Merlant, is in the lead with 11 nominations.

Just behind: "La Nuit du 12", a thriller by Dominik Moll which tells the impossible investigation into a feminicide (10 nominations), and "En corps", the last Cédric Klapisch, on the reconstruction of a dancer from the Opéra de Paris, which also managed to find its audience in theaters at the end of another delicate year for French cinema.

On the best actress side, Virginie Efira, nominated for "Revoir Paris" as a witness to an attack in a Parisian brasserie, has every chance, notably against Adèle Exarchopoulos ("Rien à foutre") or Laure Calamy ("Full time" ).

Among the male performers, Louis Garrel and Benoît Magimel are in the running, the latter being able to achieve an unprecedented consecutive double, after having already won the statuette for best actor last year for "In his lifetime", with Catherine Deneuve.

French actor Benoît Magimel after receiving the César for best actor, during the 47th César ceremony, on February 25, 2022 at the Olympia in Paris © BERTRAND GUAY / AFP/Archives

In the category of best directors, Louis Garrel, Cédric Klapisch and Dominik Moll, already Caesarized 22 years ago for "Harry a friend who wants you well", Cédric Jimenez ("November") and Albert Serra ("Pacifiction-Torment on the islands") are in the running.

Once again, the César for best director will therefore go to a director, as no female filmmaker has been nominated this year.

And Tonie Marshall will remain the only director in the history of French cinema to have been crowned for "Venus Beauty Institute"... in 2000.

Alice Guy and Cleopatra Prize

A situation that is all the more delicate for the Academy since, in the "best film" category, only one director has seen her work nominated, "Les Amandiers" by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, and that diversity is almost absent from the nominations.

Franco-Italian actress and director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi during the 46th edition of the Césars, March 12, 2021 at the Olympia in Paris © Thomas SAMSON / POOL/AFP/Archives

Faced with this even more marked imbalance this year, some alternative prizes awarded in recent days are trying to make themselves known.

The 6th Alice Guy prize (named after the first filmmaker in history), awarded to the best director, chose to honor Alice Winocour for "Revoir Paris" and its competitor, the Cléopâtre prize, launched this year by the magazine French Causette, was awarded to Alice Diop ("Saint Omer") and Rebecca Zlotowski ("The Children of Others").

Beyond the prizes, the César ceremony, broadcast on Canal+, a channel which has just reaffirmed that it intended to keep its place as a major financier of French cinema, must once again prove its relevance.

In full social movement, the evening will probably be an opportunity to speak on pension reform.

But the 2021 ceremony, where misplaced humour, self-talk and artists' recriminations created unease, is still a scarecrow.

French actress Corinne Masiero (left) disguised as "Peau d'Ane" and French actress Marina Foïs, during the 46th edition of the Césars, March 12, 2021 at the Olympia in Paris © Bertrand GUAY / POOL/ AFP/Archives

As for the audience, after hitting bottom last year with 1.3 million viewers, can it dig deeper?

In an attempt to get back on track, the presidency of the evening at the Olympia was entrusted to Tahar Rahim and the presentation to a collegiate team of masters and mistresses of ceremonies, from Emmanuelle Devos to Eye Haïdara, via Alex Lutz and Ahmad Sulla.

An Honorary Cesar will be awarded to American director David Fincher ("Seven", "Fight Club", "The Social Network", for his entire career.

© 2023 AFP