Camille Cottin & Benjamin Lavernhe to Lead 2026 César Awards – Nominations & Jim Carrey Honor
The 51st César Awards, France’s national film awards, are set to take place on , at the Olympia in Paris. The ceremony will honour the best French films of , and will feature a blend of established and emerging talent both on and off stage.
Actor Benjamin Lavernhe will host the event, succeeding Jean-Pascal Zadi in the role. Lavernhe, a member of the Comédie-Française, has been nominated for a César Award previously but has yet to win. He is known for his roles in films such as En fanfare (), My Donkey, My Lover & I (), and Abbé Pierre – A Century of Devotion ().
Camille Cottin will preside over the ceremony, marking her first time in the role. Cottin previously hosted the Cannes Film Festival ceremony in and is recognised for her work in films like Out of Love ().
A significant moment of the evening will be the presentation of an Honorary César to American actor Jim Carrey, recognising his extensive and influential career in film. The César Awards poster features imagery inspired by Carrey’s 1999 film, Man on the Moon.
The nominations for the awards were announced on , with Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague leading the pack with ten nominations. Dominik Moll’s Case 137 and Carine Tardieu’s The Ties That Bind Us followed closely with eight nominations each.
Key Nominees and Categories
The Best Film category includes Case 137, directed by Dominik Moll; It Was Just an Accident, directed by Jafar Panahi; The Little Sister, directed by Hafsia Herzi; Nouvelle Vague, directed by Richard Linklater; and The Ties That Bind Us, directed by Carine Tardieu.
Competing for Best Director are Carine Tardieu, Dominik Moll, Hafsia Herzi, Stéphane Demoustier, and Richard Linklater. The Best Actor category features Bastien Bouillon, Benjamin Voisin, Claes Bang, Laurent Lafitte, and Pio Marmaï.
Nominees for Best Actress include Leïla Bekhti, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Léa Drucker, Isabelle Huppert, and Mélanie Thierry.
Several other categories will be awarded, including Best Supporting Actor and Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Adaptation, Best Cinematography, and awards for animated and documentary films. The awards also recognise emerging talent with categories for Best Male and Female Revelation.
The ceremony will also pay tribute to actors Robert Redford, Claudia Cardinale, and Brigitte Bardot, the latter of whom passed away last year. Celebrities including David Cronenberg, Isabelle Huppert, Golshifteh Farahani, Malik Frikah, Marina Hands, Pierre Lottin, Alice Diop, Souheila Yacoub, and Karim Leklou are scheduled to present awards.
The 51st César Awards will be broadcast on Canal+ in France, bringing the celebration of French cinema to a national audience. The event represents a significant moment for the French film industry, acknowledging both artistic achievement and the enduring cultural importance of cinema in France.