2021 Cesár Awards Play It Safe, Bye Bye Morons Takes Home Top Prize

After 2020’s Cesár Awards brought storms, the following year has brought nothing more than scattered dust showers. France’s Oscar equivalent has decided that the best way to follow a year of scandal due to their support of child rapist Roman Polanski is simply to pretend it hadn’t happened. The only acknowledgement of Adèle Haenel and Céline Sciamma’s walkouts, the latter of whom recently left a ceremony in which the president of the CNC, accused of sexual abuse, was present, as well as Aïssa Maïga’s public call-out of industry racism has been through offering Adèle Haenel an honorary award, which she refused to attend to receive. The hollow olive branch has been heavily covered in the French press, to little avail.

The ceremony proceeded this year in the usual manner, usual being sketch comedy attempts like a more overtly racist version of SNL, a chance to see a few of your favorite actresses suddenly unable to decipher how to properly wear a face mask, and some surprise full-frontal nudity, in the case of Corinne Masiero’s stripped down protest to pandemic arts closures. The ceremony works much the same as a lobster trap: one is lured in by a passing interest in Marina Foïs as host, and is treated to hours of the same old school industry insiders patting themselves in the back as you hope for some recognition for a newer radical batch of cinema.

Out of the nominations themselves, highlights include Sébastien Lifshitz’s poetically real documentary about teenage girls Adolescentes, with a surprise presence in the best film category, lesbian pensioner romantic drama Deux, François Ozone’s eighties teenage gay romance Summer of 85, and donkey-starring romcom My Donkey My Lover and I with top chances. There’s also recognition for Maïmouna Doucouré’s unfairly scandalized teen film Cuties in the newcomer categories, as well as a rare awards season nod for beautiful Spanish film The August Virgin.

It’s a very comedy-heavy year, with slights to some dramas heavily awarded at comparable ceremonies, like the Lumieres. A particular head scratcher is the total shut-out of Slalom, which focuses on sexual abuse of a teenage girl by her ski coach. Last year, themes in the film were quite common, in prize winners like By the Grace of God and M, but this year it seems the ceremony has circumvented the hypocrisy of awarding these films and then Roman Polanski in its complete bypass of Slalom. 

In terms of winners, most categories played it very safe. Bye Bye Morons took home most of the major prizes, and it’s a film that, while not particularly offensive, isn’t challenging the sensibilities of the voting body or viewers. The film took so many top prizes (without its director present at the ceremony) that it’s hard to analyze the scope of the awards, as just about everything it is eligible for it wins. However, a deserving win goes to Laure Calamy for My Donkey My Lover and I in best actress, with one of the more emotional speeches of the night.

All in all, the Cesárs have decided to take the quiet route for 2021. Often avoiding more socially progressive or radical films where possible, the ceremony is treated just like any year, with almost entirely white actors presenting and skirting around the social politics of the industry, all refusing to call out that many asked for change openly. Of course, the shame that runs deep here also lies in the less serious, that the skits remain unfunny, and Patrick the donkey was not invited for his star-making role.

BEST FILM

Bye Bye Morons, dir: Albert Dupontel

Adolescentes, dir: Sébastien Lifshitz

My Donkey My Lover and I, dir: Caroline Vignal

Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait, dir: Emmanuel Mouret

Summer Of 85, dir: François Ozon

BEST DIRECTOR

Albert Dupontel, Bye Bye Morons

Maîwenn, DNA

Sébastien Lifshitz, Adolescentes

Emmanuel Mouret, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

François Ozon, Summer Of 85

BEST ACTRESS

Laure Calamy, My Donkey My Lover and I

Martine Chevallier, Two Of Us

Virginie Efira, Bye Bye Morons

Camélia Jordana, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Barbara Sukowa, Two Of Us

BEST ACTOR

Sami Bouajila, Un Fils

Jonathan Cohen, Enorme

Albert Dupontel, Bye Bye Morons

Niels Schneider, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Lambert Wilson, De Gaulle

BEST FOREIGN FILM

1917, dir: Sam Mendes

Corpus Christi, dir: Jan Komasa

Dark Waters, dir: Todd Haynes

Another Round, dir: Thomas Vinterberg

The August Virgin, dir: Jonas Trueba

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Fanny Ardant, DNA

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Summer Of 85

Emilie Dequenne, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Noémie Lvovsky, La Bonne Epouse

Yolande Moreau, La Bonne Epouse

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Edouard Baer, La Bonne Epouse

Louis Garrel, DNA

Benjamin Lavernhe, My Donkey My Lover and I

Vincent Macaigne, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Nicolas Mairé, Bye Bye Morons

BEST FEMALE NEWCOMER

Mélissa Guers, La Fille Au Bracelet

India Hair, Poissonsexe

Julia Piaton, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Camille Rutherford, Felicità

Fathia Youssouf, Cuties

BEST MALE NEWCOMER

Guang Huo, La Nuit Venue

Félix Lefebvre, Summer Of 85

Benjamin Voisin, Summer Of 85

Alexandre Wetter, Miss

Jean-Pascal Zadi, Tout Simplement Noir

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Albert Dupontel, Bye Bye Morons

Caroline Vignal, Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes

Emmanuel Mouret, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Filippo Meneghetti and Malysone Bovorashy, Two Of Us

Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kerven, Effacer L’Historique

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Olivier Assayas, Wasp Network

Hannelore Cayre and Jean-Paul Salomé, La Daronne

François Ozon, Summer Of 85

Stéphanie Demoustier, La Fille Au Bracelet

Eric Barbier, Petit Pays

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Alexis Kavyrchine, Bye Bye Morons

Antoine Parouty and Paul Guilhaume, Adolescentes

Simon Beaufils, My Donkey My Lover and I

Laurent Desmet, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Hichame Alaouié, Summer Of 85

BEST EDITING

Christophe Pinel, Bye Bye Morons

Tina Baz, Adolescentes

Annette Dutertre, My Donkey My Lover and I

Marital Salomon, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Laure Gardette, Summer Of 85

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Mimi Lempicka, Bye Bye Morons

Madeline Fontaine, La Bonne Epouse

Hélène Davoudian, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Anaïs Romand and Sergio Ballo, De Gaulle

Pascaline Chavanne, Summer Of 85

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Carlos Conti, Bye Bye Morons

Thierry François, La Bonne Epouse

David Faivre, Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait

Nicolas De Boiscuillé, De Gaulle

Benoît Barouh, Summer Of 85

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Calamity, a Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary, dir: Rémi Chayé

Josep, dir: Aurel

Little Vampire, dir: Joann Sfar

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Adolescentes, dir: Sébastien Lifshitz

La Cravate, dir: Etienne Chaillou and Mathias Théry

Cyrille Agriculteur, 30 Ans, 20 Vaches, Du Lait, Du Beurre, Des Dettes, dir: Rodolphe Marconi

Histoire D’Un Regard, dir: Mariana Otero

Un Pays Qui Se Tient Sage, dir: David Du Fresne

BEST FIRST FILM

Two Of Us, dir: Filippo Meneghetti

Garçon Chiffon, dir: Nicolas Maury

Cuties, dir: Maïmouna Doucouré

Tout Simplement Noir, dir: Jean-Pascal Zadi

Un Divan A Tunis, dir: Manele Labidi

BEST SCORE

Christophe Julien, Bye Bye Morons

Stephen Warbeck, DNA

Mateï Bratescot, My Donkey My Lover and I

Jean-Benoït Dunckel, Summer Of 85

Rone, La Nuit Venue