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| Michael Haneke at the Lumières |
At a ceremony last night (Friday) at the Gaieté Lyrique Theatre Amour starring Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva as an elderly Parisian couple facing their mortality, was named best film with best actor nods for the veteran players.
Kicking off France’s awards season with the Césars (the French Oscars) due on 25 January the Lumières are regarded as a reliable indication of what might be in the bag.
Jacques Audiard's Rust And Bone, Leos Carax's Holy Motors; Camille Rewinds from Noemie Lvovsky; and Benoit Jacquot's Farewell My Queen were all in contention for the top prize.
Amour is nominated for five Oscars along with a host of international awards, and it won the Palme d'Or at Cannes as well as the accolade for foreign-language film at the recent Golden Globes.
The Lumière Awards, hosted during the Unifrance's Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, are voted on by international journalists based in Paris. Spanish actress Victoria Abril, who lives in Paris, presided over the ceremony.
Rust And Bone garnered a director trophy for Jacques Audiard -- and screenplay for Audiard and Thomas Bidegain.
Camille Rewinds, one of the hits of last year’s French Film Festival UK, nabbed two nods: the Lumieres' special prize and best female newcomer, shared by Judith Chemla, Julia Faure and India Hair.
Ernst Umhauer won male newcomer for his performance in Francois Ozon's In The House, one of the French titles in this year’s Glasgow Film Festival.
Moussa Toure's La Pirogue (part of the French Film Festival UK’s official Panorama Horizons selection), won for foreign film in the French language. The Sengalese drama chronicled the journey of West African immigrants who embark on a boat to cross to mainland Europe.
Best Cinematography went to Antoine Héberlé for his work on Stephane Brizé’s A Few Hours of Spring.
