French cinema icon Catherine Deneuve has been chosen to head the 50th edition of the César Awards, often referred to as France’s Oscars. In her role as honorary president, Deneuve will deliver the opening remarks for this landmark ceremony. Scheduled for February 28, the event will be hosted at the Olympia concert hall and broadcast by Canal+, the long-standing media partner of the César Awards.
The Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma expressed, “Who could better celebrate 50 years of the Césars than an actress of extraordinary caliber? Catherine Deneuve, with her immense talent, remarkable career, and timeless elegance, truly embodies the spirit of cinema.”
Throughout her nearly seven-decade career, Deneuve has collaborated with many of the world’s most celebrated directors, appearing in a multitude of classic films from Luis Buñuel’s “Belle de jour” to François Truffaut’s “Le Dernier Métro,” and Jacques Demy’s “Les Demoiselles de Rochefort” and “Peau d’Âne,” among others. She also worked with Lars Von Trier on “Dancer in the Dark.”
A veteran of the César Awards, Deneuve has earned 14 nominations, winning the best actress award twice: first for her role in “Le Dernier Métro” in 1981 and later for “Indochine” in 1994, a film that also garnered an Oscar nomination and won Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards that year. Since then, no French film has won in that category.
Deneuve continues to enjoy a flourishing career, working with various directors, including André Téchiné, François Ozon, and Kore-eda. In 2005, she was honored with an honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for her contributions to cinema.