No clear favourite had emerged in the race for the title of Best French Film of 2025, as evidenced by the differing choices made by the various national and international critics’ juries. But the verdict at the 51st César ceremony last night nonetheless came as a major surprise, since, on paper, Carine Tardieu’s victorious movie, The Ties that Bind Us [+lee también:
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entrevista: Carine Tardieu
ficha de la película], was the rank outsider among the five nominees for the top honour.

Unveiled in the 2024 Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti line-up and attracting 779,000 cinemagoers in France during its theatrical run exactly one year ago (which is also curious, as it’s very rare for César winners to have been released in the first quarter), The Ties that Bind Us added two further Césars to its collection, this time in the categories of Best Adaptation (via a screenplay by Carine Tardieu, Raphaële Moussafir and Agnès Feuvre, based on the novel L'Intimité by Alice Ferney) and Best Supporting Actress (Vimala Pons). Carine Tardieu is now the sixth female director to win the César for Best Film after Justine Triet (2024), Pascale Ferran (2007), Agnès Jaoui (2001), Tonie Marshall (2000) and Coline Serreau (1986).

The rest of the evening (which paid tribute to Jim Carrey, in the presence of a new Minister of Culture, Catherine Pégard, appointed two hours earlier) hewed more closely to predictions, notably in the form of the four trophies scooped by the most-nominated film, Nouvelle Vague [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by US filmmaker Richard Linklater, which prevailed in the categories of directing, cinematography (David Chambille), editing (Catherine Schwartz) and costumes (Pascaline Chavanne).

On the acting front, odds-on favourite Léa Drucker bagged her second Best Actress César since 2019, thanks to her performance in Case 137 [+lee también:
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entrevista: Dominik Moll
ficha de la película] by Dominik Moll. Laurent Lafitte, by contrast, enjoyed a first and more modest surprise thanks to his finely calibrated performance in The Richest Woman in the World [+lee también:
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entrevista: Thierry Klifa
ficha de la película] by Thierry Klifa.

Several other winners fell mostly in line with expectations, such as Nino [+lee también:
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entrevista: Pauline Loquès
ficha de la película] by Pauline Loquès, which clinched Best First Film and earned Canadian Théodore Pellerin the César for Most Promising Actor; Oscar nominee Arco [+lee también:
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entrevista: Vincent Munier
ficha de la película], which won Vincent Munier his second title in the Best Documentary category (after The Velvet Queen [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] in 2022), plus a trophy for Best Sound; and Nadia Melliti, who added the César for Most Promising Actress to the haul of awards she’s been gathering since Cannes via The Little Sister [+lee también:
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entrevista: Hafsia Herzi
ficha de la película].

There was one genuine surprise, however, which emerged in the Best Original Screenplay category, won by Franck Dubosc and Sarah Kaminsky for How to Make a Killing [+lee también:
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ficha de la película]. Pierre Lottin’s victory as Best Supporting Actor was scant consolation for The Stranger [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by François Ozon, much like the two technical Césars (Production Design for Catherine Cosme and Visual Effects for Lise Fischer) bagged by The Great Arch [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Stéphane Demoustier.

Despite the situation in Iran being at the heart of several speeches, France’s candidate for the Best Picture Oscar, It Was Just an Accident [+lee también:
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Last but not least, the Best Foreign Film category crowned as its victor One Battle After Another by US filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Best Film
The Ties that Bind Us [+lee también:
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entrevista: Carine Tardieu
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Best Director
Richard Linklater - Nouvelle Vague [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] (France)

Best First Film
Nino [+lee también:
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entrevista: Pauline Loquès
ficha de la película] - Pauline Loquès (France)

Best Documentary
Whispers in the Woods [+lee también:
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entrevista: Vincent Munier
ficha de la película] - Vincent Munier (France)

Best Animated Feature
Arco [+lee también:
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entrevista: Ugo Bienvenu
ficha de la película] - Ugo Bienvenu (France)

Best Actress
Léa Drucker - Case 137 [+lee también:
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entrevista: Dominik Moll
ficha de la película] (France)

Best Actor
Laurent Lafitte - The Richest Woman in the World [+lee también:
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entrevista: Thierry Klifa
ficha de la película] (France/Belgium)

Best Supporting Actress
Vimala Pons - The Ties that Bind Us

Best Supporting Actor
Pierre Lottin - The Stranger [+lee también:
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entrevista: François Ozon
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Most Promising Actress
Nadia Melliti - The Little Sister [+lee también:
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entrevista: Hafsia Herzi
ficha de la película] (France/Germany)

Most Promising Actor
Théodore Pellerin - Nino

Best Original Screenplay
Franck Dubosc, Sarah Kaminsky – How to Make a Killing [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] (France)

Best Adaptation
Carine Tardieu, Raphaële Moussafir and Agnès Feuvre – The Ties that Bind Us

Best Cinematography
David Chambille - Nouvelle Vague

Best Editing
Catherine Schwartz - Nouvelle Vague

Best Costume Design
Pascaline Chavanne - Nouvelle Vague

Best Production Design
Catherine Cosme - The Great Arch [+lee también:
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entrevista: Stéphane Demoustier
ficha de la película] (France/Denmark)

Best Visual Effects
Lise Fischer – The Great Arch

Best Sound
Romain Cadilhac, Marc Namblard, Olivier Touche, Olivier Goinard – Whispers in the Woods

Best Original Score
Arnaud Toulon - Arco

Best Live-Action Short Film
Mort d’un acteur – Ambroise Rateau (France)

Best Animated Short Film
Fille de l’eau – Sandra Desmazières (France/Portugal/Netherlands)

Best Documentary Short
Au bain des dames – Margaux Fournier (France)

Best Foreign Film
One Battle After Another – Paul Thomas Anderson (USA)