With eight nominations each, Luc Besson's The Messenger: The Story Of Joan Of Arc and Patrice Leconte's The Girl On The Bridge (La Fille Sur Le Pont) may have been the hottest contenders for the Cesar awards - France's equivalent of the Academy Awards - but it was a smaller film Tonie Marshall's Venus Beaute which finally picked up top honours, much to everyone's surprise.

The romantic comedy - a sleeper hit in France in 1999 with over 1 million admissions - won four Cesar, including best film, best director, best script and best new actress for Audrey Tautou. The film is produced by Agat Films and sold internationally by Mercure Distribution.

The best actor award went to Daniel Auteil for The Girl On The Bridge (La Fille Sur Le Pont) but Besson's Joan Of Arc took only two technical awards - best sound and best costumes.

Karin Viard won best actress for her role in another small title - Solveig Anspach's Haut Les Coeurs. Unsurprisingly enough, Pedro Almodovar walked away with the award for best foreign film for All About My Mother.

Full list of winners:

Best film:
Venus Beaute - Tonie Marshall

Best actor:
Daniel Auteuil - The Girl On The Bridge (La Fille Sur Le Pont)

Best actress:
Karin Viard - Haut Les Coeurs

Best director:
Tonie Marshall - Venus Beaute

Best supporting actor:
Francois Berleand - Ma Petite Entreprise

Best supporting actress:
Charlotte Gainsbourg - La Buche

Best foreign film:
All About My Mother - Pedro Almodovar

Best first film:
Voyages - Emmanuel Finkiel

Best new actor:
Eric Caravaca - C'est Quoi Lavie

Best new actress:
Audrey Tautou - Venus Beaute

Best screenplay:
Tonie Marshall - Venus Beaute

Best music:
Bruno Coulais - Himalaya L'enfance D'un Chef

Best photography:
Eric Guichard - Himalaya L'enfance D'un Chef

Best set decoration:
Philippe Chiffre - Rembrandt

Best sound:
Vincent Tulli, Francois Groult, Bruno Tarriere - The Messenger: The Story Of Joan Of Arc

Montage:
Emmanuelle Castro - Voyages

Best costumes:
Catherine Leterrier - The Messenger: The Story Of Joan Of Arc

Best short film:
Sale Battars - Delphine Gleize