François Ozon’s The Stranger, a film adaptation of Albert Camus’ literary masterpiece that had its world premiere in Venice, came out on top at the 31st Lumière Awards at the awards ceremony held at the Arab Monde Institute in Paris, winning Best Picture, Best Actor for Benjamin Voisin, and Best Cinematography for Manu Dacosse.
This is the first time that director Ozon has won the Lumière Award for Best Picture since he was nominated for “By the Grace of God” in 2020 and “Summer 85” in 2021. Voisin, who stars opposite Rebecca Marder in The Stranger, previously won the top award for her role in Summer 85.
Meanwhile, American director Richard Linklater won the director’s award for “Nouvelle Vague,” a black-and-white love letter to the French film movement known as the New Wave. The film, released in competition at Cannes, also won the Best Male Award for Guillaume Malbec.
Considered France’s equivalent of the Golden Globes, the Lumière Awards are voted on by international journalists from 36 countries and are awarded at a ceremony that kicks off France’s awards season, about a month before the Cesar Awards.
French star Léa Drucker won the Best Actress award for Dominique Mol’s yellow jacket drama “Case 137,” which also opened at the Cannes Film Festival. This is Drucker’s first Lumière win since he was nominated for Xavier Legrand’s Custody in 2019 and Catherine Breillat’s The Last Summer in 2024.
Nadia Meriti, who won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival for her role in Hafsia Herzi’s Little Sister, won the Best Female Revelation Award. Another Cannes Award winner, “The Secret Agent,” directed by Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho, won the award for Best International Co-Production. The film just won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and Best International Film for Wagner Moura.
Screenwriter and director Stéphane Demoustier won the screenplay award for his second Lumière film, L’Incogne de la Grande Arche, following 2021’s La Fille aux Bracelets.
The awards were even broader, with Pauline Roquet’s Nino, starring Théodore Pellerin, winning Best First Film. Hugo Bienvenue’s “Arco” was named best animated feature. Director Sepideh Farsi’s “Walk with Your Soul in Your Hands” won the Best Documentary Award. The award for Best Original Music went to Warren Ellis, Don La Nena and Rosemary Standley for Vincent Meunier’s Le Chant des forêts.
France’s next race is the Prix Cesar, scheduled to be held at Olympia in Paris on February 27th, with Jim Carrey set to be this year’s honorary Cesar winner.
