Feb 25, 2007–Adaptations of English-language novels dominated the 2007 Csars, the French national film prizes that were handed out yesterday (Saturday) in Paris. Pascale Ferran's Lady Chatterley, a retelling of the second version of D.H. Lawrence's erotic classic Lady Chatterley's Lover, and actor-turned-director Guillaume Canet's Ne le dis personne (Tell No One), based on the novel by American writer Harlan Coben, won Best Film and Best Director respectively. Chatterley received five awards and Ne le dis personne four.
The suprise box office hit of 2006, Philippe Lioret's Je vais bien, ne t'en fais pas (Don't Worry, I'm Fine) won two Csars including Best Female Newcomer for its star Mlanie Laurent.
Little Miss Sunshine was named the Best Foreign Film, while UK actor Jude Law and Algerian-born actress Marlne Jobert were awarded honorary Csars.
Lady Chatterley
Lady Chatterley, which was recently part of the Panorama section at the Berlin Film Festival, was not only named Best Film, but also won Marina Hands, who plays the titular protagonist, a Best Actress Csar. Further wins included Best Adapted Screenplay for Pascale Ferran, Roger Bohbot and Pierre Trividic; Best Costumes for Marie-Claude Altot (somewhat ironic since they don't stay on for very long in the film about a woman's exploration of her own sexuality) and Best Cinematography for Julien Hirsch.
Earlier this year, Lady Chatterley already won the prestigious Louis Delluc prize for Best Artistic Production of the year. With all these accolades to its name, it looks set for a healthy round on the international arthouse circuit.
Ne le dis a personne Though only Guillaume Canet's second film as a director, Ne le dis personne won the Canet (best known internationally for his role in the The Beach alongside Leonardo DiCaprio) the prestigious Best Director Csar. The taut character thriller with one of the most amazing chase sequences in recent memory also won everyman protagonist Franois Cluzet a Best Actor Csar, while Mathieu Chedid won the Best Score category and Herv de Luze won the Best Editing Csar for his razor-sharp precision work. Valrie Lemercier was awarded the Best Supporting Actress Csar for her role as a soap actress trying to make it big in France's Foreign Language Oscar submission Fauteuils d'orchestre (Avenue Montaigne), while Kad Merad was names Best Supporting Actor for his work in Je vais bien, ne t'en fais pas (Don't Worry, I'm Fine), in which he plays a father of two who is pestered by his daughter (played by Best Female Newcomer winner Mlanie Laurent) when her twin brother goes missing after having quarelled with his father. Malik Zidi was named Best Male Newcomer for his role in the student drama Les amitis malfiques (Poison Friends); it was a record fourth time he had been nominated in this category, after Ozon's Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brlantes (Water Drops on Burning Rocks) in 2001, Antoine Santana's Un moment de bonheur in 2003 and Andr Tchin's Les temps qui changent (Changing Times) in 2005. The awards ceremony at the Thtre du Chtelet in Paris was dedicated to the memory of prolific and beloved French actor Philippe Noiret, who died last November. The 2007 Csars Winners: Best Film: Lady Chatterly (Pascale Ferran)
Best Director: Guillaume Canet (Ne le dis personne / Tell No One)
Best Actress: Marina Hands (Lady Chatterley)
Best Actor : Franois Cluzet (Ne le dis personne)
Best Supporting Actress: Valrie Lemercier (Fauteuils d'orchestre / Avenue Montaigne)
Best Supporting Actor: Kad Merad (Je vais bien ne t'en fais pas / Don't Worry, I'm Fine)
Best Female Newcomer: Mlanie Laurent (Je vais bien, ne t'en fais pas)
Best Male Newcomer: Malik Zidi (Les amitis malfiques / Poison Friends)
Best Foreign Film: Little Miss Sunshine (Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris)
Best First Film: Je vous trouve trs beau (You Are So Beautiful) (Isabelle Mergault)
Best Original Screenplay: Olivier Lorelle and Rachid Bouchareb (Indignes / Days of Glory)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Pascale Ferran, Roger Bohbot, Pierre Trividic (Lady Chatterley)
Best Score: Mathieu Chedid (Ne le dis personne)
Best Cinematography: Julien Hirsch (Lady Chatterley)
Best Production Design: Maamar Ech Cheikh (OSS 117 Le Caire, nid d'espions / OSS 117 – Cairo, Nest of Spies)
Best Sound: Franois Musy, Gabriel Hafner (Quand j'tais chanteur / The Singer)
Best Costumes: Marie-Claude Altot (Lady Chatterley)
Best Editing: Herv de Luze (Ne le dis personne)
Best Documentary: Dans la peau de Jacques Chirac (Karl Zro, Michel Royer)
Honorary Csars: Jude Law, Marlne Jobert
