40th César Awards, Feb 20, 2015, Paris
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| Francois Damiens, Adele Haenel, Katell Quillevere and Paul Hamy | Photo: Georges Biard |
When: February 20, 2015
Hot Spot: Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, France
Deets: The César Award is the national film award of France; it is delivered in the Nuit des César ceremony and it was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Ministry of Culture. The nationally televised award ceremony is held in the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris each February. After the Ceremony, nominees and winners are invited to a Gala Dinner at Fouquet’s, followed by “La Party”, to carry on the César festivities until the early hours!
The César Award is considered the highest film honor in France, the French film industry's equivalent to the Molière Award for theatre, and the Victoires de la Musique for music. In cinema, it is the French equivalent of the Academy Award in the United States.
The award was created by Georges Cravenne, who was also the creator of the Molière Award for theatre. The name of the award comes from the sculptor César Baldaccini (1921–1998) who created it.
The evening was opened by the Ceremony Chairman, whose sole obligation was to end his speech with the much anticipated sentence “I declare the Césars Ceremony open”. Then the invited artists (the presenters) were called onto the stage one by one by the Master of Ceremonies. Just before they went on stage, the usher handed them the sealed envelopes containing the results, which were kept secret till that moment. They opened the envelopes before the live audience, and announced to them and the TV viewers the names of the winners in the 21 categories.
Lastly, a minute of silence was observed in tribute to the professionals of French cinema who have died in the previous year, while their names scrolled up the theatre’s giant screen.
After the Ceremony, nominees and winners were invited to a Gala Dinner at Fouquet’s, followed by “La Party”, which carried on the César festivities until the early hours.
See the list of 2015 winners here: http://www.academie-cinema.org/en/ceremony/awards.html
Spotted: Actors and directors from the featured films
Hint For The Average Socialite:
(Schedule of Upcoming events)
January 12th, 2015 - 2015 Newcomers Diner
January 28th, 2015 - Press Conference of the 2015 Nominations
February 7th, 2015 - The 2015 Nominees Lunch
February 16th, 2015 - Producers' Diner