Five weeks before the César Awards ceremony, we find The Stranger (aka L’étranger) possibly emerging as the possible favorite with François Ozon landing Best Film of 2025 kudos plus the extra golden trimming wins of Best Actor for Benjamin Voisin and Best Cinematography for Manu Dacosse. Ozon’s film dropped in Venice (read our review) while the two major contenders and front-runners for February’s “France Oscars” are Case 137 (landed Best Actress award for Léa Drucker) and Nouvelle Vague which gave Richard Linklater the Best Director award. Nominations and winners (in bold):
Best Film
“Case 137,” Dominik Moll
“The Stranger,” François Ozon
“The Great Arch,” Stéphane Demoustier
“Mektoub My Love: Canto Due,” Abdellatif Kechiche
“Nouvelle Vague,” Richard Linklater
Best Director
“The Great Arch,” Stéphane Demoustier
“Mektoub My Love: Canto Due,” Abdellatif Kechiche
“Nouvelle Vague,” Richard Linklater
“Case 137,” Dominik Moll
“The Stranger,” François Ozon
Best Screenplay
“The Great Arch,” Stéphane Demoustier
“Nouvelle Vague,” Holly Gent, Vince Palmo and Michèle Halberstadt
“Nino,” Pauline Loquès
“Case 137,” Dominik Moll and Gilles Marchand
“The Stranger,” François Ozon
Best Documentary
“Le Chant des Forêts,” Vincent Munier
“Dites-lui que je l’aime,” Romane Bohringer
“Lumière ! L’Aventure Continue,” Thierry Frémaux
“Personne n’y comprend rien,” Yannick Kergoat
“Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk,” Sepideh Farsi
Best Animated Film
“Amélie et la Métaphysique des Tubes,” Liane-Cho Han and Mailys Vallade
“Arco,” Ugo Bienvenu
“La Vie de Château, Mon Enfance à Versailles,” Nathaniel H’Limi and Clémence Madeleine-Perdrillat
“Marcel et Monsieur Pagnol,” Sylvain Chomet
“Slocum et Moi,” Jean-François Laguionie
Best Actress
“Case 137,” Léa Drucker
“Private Life,” Jodie Foster
“The Richest Woman in the World,” Isabelle Huppert
“Love Me Tender,” Vicky Krieps
“La Chambre de Mariana,” Mélanie Thierry
Best Actor
“La Condition,” Swann Arlaud
“The Great Arch,” Claes Bang
“The Richest Woman in the World,” Laurent Lafitte
“Le Mohican,” Alexis Manenti
“The Stranger,” Benjamin Voisin
“Kika,” Manon Clavel
“Hiver à Sokcho,” Bella Kim
“The Little Sister,” Nadia Melliti
“Mektoub My Love: Canto Due,” Jessica Pennington
“L’Épreuve du Feu,” Anja Verderosa
Male Newcomer
“Météors,” Idir Azougli
“La Petite Cuisine de Mehdi,” Younès Boucif
“Nouvelle Vague,” Guillaume Marbeck
“Nino,” Théodore Pellerin
“Enzo,” Eloy Pohu
Best First Feature
“L’Engloutie,” Louise Hémon
“Little Jaffna,” Lawrence Valin
“Nino,” Pauline Loquès
“La Pampa,” Antoine Chevrollier
“Le Rendez-vous de l’Été,” Valentine Cadic
Best International Co-Production
“The Secret Agent,” Kleber Mendonça Filho
“Tardes de Soledad,” Albert Serra
“It Was Just an Accident,” Jafar Panahi
“Sentimental Value,” Joachim Trier
“The Voice of Hind Rajab,” Kaouther Ben Hania
Best Cinematography
“L’Engloutie,” Marine Atlan
“Nouvelle Vague,” David Chambille
“The Stranger,” Manu Dacosse
“La Condition,” Pascal Lagriffoul
“Le Chant des Forêts,” Vincent Munier, Antoine Lavorel and Laurent Joffrion
Best Original Music
“The Stranger,” Fatima Al Qadiri
“The Little Sister,” Amine Bouhafa
“Le Chant des Forêts,” Warren Ellis, Dom La Nena and Rosemary Standley
“Private Life,” ROB
“Arco,” Arnaud Toulon
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