03/02/2015 - Best Film and Best Director go to Abderrahmane Sissako, while Karin Viard and Gaspard Ulliel are recognised for their acting

Abderrahmane Sissako with his Lumière (© Gilles Petipas for the Lumières Academy)

The 20th Lumières Awards, given out by the foreign press working in Paris, marked a victory for Abderrahmane Sissako’s Timbuktu [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] yesterday evening, as the film was crowned in the categories of Best Film of the Year and Best Director. Unveiled in competition at Cannes and produced by Sylvie Pialat for Les Films du Worso, together with Armada Films, Arte France Cinéma, Orange Studio and the CNC’s advance on receipts, the feature distributed in France by Le Pacte (taking 668,000 admissions over eight weeks) now seems to be a firm favourite for the César Awards, which will be handed out on 20 February (read the news).

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Having already won in 2000, Karin Viard took home the Lumière for Best Actress for her performances in La Famille Bélier [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile] and Lulu in the Nude [+see also:
trailer
film profile], while Gaspard Ulliel won the equivalent male prize for Saint Laurent [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Bertrand Bonello
film profile]. It is also worth pointing out the two trophies snagged by Love at First Fight [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Thomas Cailley
film profile] by Thomas Cailley – those for Best Debut Film and Most Promising Actor (Kevin Azaïs). 

On the whole, the awards list strikes a fairly good balance between arthouse films and more mainstream titles, as La Famille Bélier (5.5 million admissions in France over its 47 days in theatres) was honoured with a second Lumière (for Louane Emara, as Most Promising Actress) and the Best Screenplay Award was bagged by Philippe de Chauveron and Guy Laurent for Serial (Bad) Weddings [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (12.2 million admissions last year).

Lastly of note is the triumph of Two Days, One Night [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne
film profile] by Belgian directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne as Best French-language Film (outside France), the Special Academy Prize awarded to Girlhood [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Céline Sciamma
interview: Céline Sciamma
film profile] by Céline Sciamma and the Technical CST Award for Best Cinematography handed to Rémy Chevrin (A la vie [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]).

(Translated from French)