19/01/2026 - François Ozon’s feature receives three trophies, including Best Picture; Benjamin Voisin and Léa Drucker crowned Best Actor and Best Actress, and Nouvelle vague scoops two awards

Awarded to the best French films and artists by foreign journalists based in France during a ceremony held last night at the Arab World Institute in Paris, the 31st Lumières Awards of the International Press crowned François Ozon's The Stranger [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: François Ozon
film profile] as the best film of 2025. The film won a total of three awards, also including Best Actor for Benjamin Voisin (who becomes the first actor in the history of the Lumières to win this award after triumphing in the Best New Actor category in 2021 for Summer of 85 [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]) and Best Cinematography (Manu Dacosse).

Léa Drucker was crowned Best Actress for Dominik Moll's Case 137 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dominik Moll
film profile], her first win after two previous nominations (Custody [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Xavier Legrand
film profile] in 2019 and Last Summer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Catherine Breillat
film profile] in 2024).

Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle vague [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] wins two awards (Best Director for the American filmmaker and Best New Actor for Guillaume Marbeck), Stéphane Demoustier wins his second Lumière Award for Best Screenplay for The Great Arch [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stéphane Demoustier
film profile] (after his first trophy in 2021 for The Girl with a Bracelet [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stéphane Demoustier
film profile]), Pauline Loquès' Nino [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pauline Loquès
film profile] wins the trophy for Best First Film and Ugo Bienvenu's Arco [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ugo Bienvenu
film profile] wins Best Animated Film.

Also featured in the awards list are The Little Sister [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hafsia Herzi
film profile] by Hafsia Herzi, with the award for Best Female Newcomer going to Nadia Melliti, Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Sepideh Farsi in the Best Documentary category, the trio Warren Ellis - Dom La Nena - Rosemary Standley for the music in Vincent Munier’s Whispers in the Woods [+see also:
film review
interview: Vincent Munier
film profile], and The Secret Agent [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho, winning Best International Co-production.

The winners:

Best Picture
The Stranger [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: François Ozon
film profile] - François Ozon (France/Belgium)

Best Direction
Richard Linklater - Nouvelle vague [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (France)

Best First Film
Nino [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pauline Loquès
film profile] - Pauline Loquès (France)

Best Documentary
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Sepideh Farsi (France/Palestine/Iran)

Best Animation
Arco [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ugo Bienvenu
film profile] - Ugo Bienvenu (France)

Best Actress
Léa Drucker - Case 137 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dominik Moll
film profile] (France)

Best Actor
Benjamin Voisin - The Stranger

Female Revelation
Nadia Melliti - The Little Sister [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hafsia Herzi
film profile] (France/Germany)

Male Revelation
Guillaume Marbeck - Nouvelle Vague

Best Screenplay
Stéphane Demoustier - The Great Arch [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stéphane Demoustier
film profile] (France/Denmark)

Best Cinematography
Manu Dacosse - The Stranger

Best Music
Warren Ellis, Dom La Nena and Rosemary Standley – Whispers in the Woods [+see also:
film review
interview: Vincent Munier
film profile] (France)

Best International Co-production
The Secret Agent [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil/France/Germany/Netherlands)

(Translated from French)