The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences isn’t the only film organization to take notice of Joker (Todd Philips) and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino). The two American films received nominations, announced January 29, for César awards in the category of Best Foreign Film.
Best Foreign Film has been awarded at the Césars, the French equivalent of the Oscars, since 1976. The statuette has been taken home by the US 15 times, most often by Clint Eastwood (three wins), followed by Woody Allen (two wins).
Joker and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood will face Le Jeune Ahmed (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne), Parasite (Bong Joon-Ho), Pain and Glory (Pedro Almodovar), Lola vers la mer (Laurent Micheli), and The Traitor (Marco Bellocchio).
Parasite and Pain and Glory were also nominated for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars, held in Los Angeles, California on February 9.
In Competition winners at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival feature prominently among Best Foreign Film nominees at the Césars this year: Parasite won the Palme d’Or, Le Jeune Ahmed received Best Director, and Pain and Glory earned Antonio Banderas Best Actor. And, though it didn’t win any awards, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood had its premiere at Cannes.
The César ceremony, hosted by French actress Sandrine Kiberlain, will take place on February 28 at the Pleyel Theater in Paris.
