Amour sweeps French César Awards

Michael Haneke’s Amour swept the board at France’s César awards on Friday night, clinching best film, best director, best actress, best actor and best original screenplay.

Emmanuelle Riva, who turns 86 on Sunday [Feb 24], was the only Amour winner to take to the stage at Friday’s star-studded César ceremony at the Théatre du Châtelet in central Paris. 

“I was so lucky at this time in my life to meet such a wonder: Michael Haneke and find a subject which touches all of us,” said Riva, who shot to fame in Alain Resnais’ 1959 classic Hiroshima Mon Amour. “It’s the first time in my life that I’ve won a César.”

Riva’s 82-year-old co-star Jean-Louis Tritignant, who clinched best actor, connected to the ceremony by telephone from Brussels where he is currently performing in a show devoted to 20th Century poets Jacques Prévert, Boris Vian and Robert Desnos.

Other successful films included Jacques Audiard’s Rust And Bone (De Rouille Et d’os) which won four prizes, Benoît Jacquot’s Farewell My Queen (Les Adieux à La Reine), which garnered three awards, and Alexandre de la Patellière and Matthieu Delaporte’s What’s In A Name (Le Prénom), which picked up two awards.

2013 César winners

Best film
Amour

Best director
Michael Haneke, Amour

Best original screenplay
Michael Haneke, Amour

Best actress
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

Best actor
Jean-Louis Trintignant, Amour

Best foreign film
Argo, Ben Affleck

Best supporting actress
Valérie Benguigui, What’s In A Name

Best supporting actor
Guillaume de Tonquedec, What’s In A Name

Best upcoming actress
Izia Higelin, Mauvaise Fille

Best upcoming actor
Matthias Schoenaerts, Rust And Bone

Best first film
Louise Wimmer, directed by Cyril Mennegun

Best animation film
Ernest And Celestine, directed by Benjamin Renner, Vincent Patar and Stéphane Aubier

Best documentary
Les Invisibles, Sébastien Lifshitz

Best adaptation
Jacques Audiard and Thomas Bidegain, Rust And Bone

Best photography
Romain Winding, Farewell My Queen

Best sound
Antoine Deflandre, Germain Boulay and Eric Tisserand, Cloclo

Best original music
Alexandre Desplats, Rust And Bone

Best art direction
Katia Wyszkop, Farewell My Queen

Best editing
Juliette Welfling, Rust And Bone

Best costume
Christian Gasc, Farewell My Queen

Best short film
The Lobster Cry (Le Cri du Homard), Nicolas Guiot 

Honorary César
Kevin Costner