Césars 2026: Discover the full winners list

By Violaine Schütz.

Published on 6 November 2025. Updated on 27 February 2026.

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The ceremony was as long as it was unpredictable… There were a few emotional moments, political reflections, a powerful speech by Golshifteh Farahani about Iran, and even some musings on AI along the way. The 51st César Awards took place on February 26th, 2026, at L’Olympia in Paris, and were hosted by French actor Benjamin Lavernhe. Alongside him, the event’s hosts included David Cronenberg, Isabelle Huppert, Golshifteh Farahani, Malik Frikah, Marina Hands, Pierre Lottin, Alice Diop, Souheila Yacoub and Karim Leklou.

A wild opening show by Benjamin Lavernhe at the 2026 César Awards

The star of The Marching Band (2024), My Donkey, My Lover & I (2020) and Abbé Pierre – A Century of Devotion (2023) opted for an unconventional approach to hosting the Césars. As member of the Comédie-Française and a multiple César nominee, he went all in on humor and choreography.

The César ceremony indeed opened with a wild performance by the host. In order to pay tribute to Jim Carrey, who received an honorary César that night, Benjamin Lavernhe slipped into the skin of the burlesque and cynical hero of The Mask. With a great deal of not-so-subtle humor and a dose of irreverence, the actor spared a thought for all those who would not be taking the stage: “The good news is that after five failed attempts, the Academy takes pity on you and offers you the job of host of ceremony!”

Dance, singing, jokes and politics

Benjamin Lavernhe addressed the nominees by gently poking fun at them, while dancing and singing frantically in bizarre costumes. He spoke to Danish actor Claes Bang, nominated for Best Actor for The Great Arch, with irony. “Are you coming to take a title from us? (…) Are we coming to take Greenland from you?,” he declared, alluding to the Arctic island’s situation and the threats made by Donald Trump.

Another jab? “I watched all your films. All 232 of them. I had a great time… though I did see a few real stinkers,” the actor quipped. Or again: “Case 137… Sorry, but what kind of dumb title is that? Next time, don’t bother, just use your social security number.” Benjamin Lavernhe wrapped up his opening by dancing among a group of police officers, before giving way to Camille Cottin, president of the 2026 César Awards. The French actress, who had already shone as host of ceremonies at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, once again proved herself to be both elegant, witty, and deeply committed.

Camille Cottin as an inspired president of the jury

The French cinema star, dressed in a Dior gown and wearing Macron-style aviator glasses, shared that she had prepared her speech by following the advice of politicians on how to make cinema “great again”. A clear reference to Donald Trump, which gave the evening a political edge. Then, she delivered an inspired speech, ironically mocking the mercantile practices that would kill cinema if taken to their logical extreme. “As of today, any director whose films draw fewer than 500,000 viewers will apologize and go back to business school. (…) My colleagues have drawn my attention to a major issue: artists, who judge, criticize, doubt, whine… We’re going to keep making art, but without artists.”

She concluded her first speech of the evening on a more serious note. “French audiences go to see French films massively. We are the second most exported cinema in the world, after the American industry. Culture is often the first thing to be under attack, because it is a weapon against authoritarianism. We want to dedicate this ceremony to all the people who are risking their life to fight for their freedom.”

Nadia Melliti and Théodore Pellerin received an award

Regarding awards, the first winners of the evening were Nadia Melliti and Théodore Pellerin, crowned Most Promising Actress and Most Promising Actor for The Little Sister and Nino. The rising actress delivered a moving speech: “Since the very beginning of this adventure, I’ve kept being surprised, and I feel like I’m living a waking dream. So please, don’t wake me up.”

As for the actor from Nino, he noted: “It’s a huge honor to be among you in this room. (…) If this film has been described as a human and sweet, whose sole focus is people, it reveals a soul that elevates us. I wish for every actor to be filmed by Pauline Loquès. It will remain one of the most beautiful roles of my life.”

The Ties That Binds Us: Léa Drucker and Laurent Lafitte among the winners

Among the other actors awarded that night, Pierre Lottin won the César for Best Supporting Actor for François Ozon’s The Stranger, while Vimala Pons received the César for Best Supporting Actress for Carine Tardieu’s The Ties That Bind Us. In her deeply moving acceptance speech, the actress declared: “Grief is not something sad. You have to live twice as much for everything you don’t have and four times as much for all the people you’ve lost.”

Meanwhile, the charismatic Laurent Lafitte was awarded the César for Best Actor for his exuberant performance in The Richest Woman in the World. He received the prize from Isabelle Adjani, who asked all the men in the audience to stand up in support of women’s rights. The talented Léa Drucker was crowned Best Actress for Case 137. Finally, Richard Linklater’s film Nouvelle Vague won several awards, including Best Director, while Carine Tardieu’s The Ties That Bind Us took home the César for Best Film.

An Honorary César awarded to Jim Carrey

Another major announcement? American actor Jim Carrey was awarded an Honorary César by Michel Gondry himself, who directed him in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). This distinction celebrated his entire career. In an Instagram post shared on January 14th, 2026, we learned that the César poster echoes the film Man on the Moon (1999), starring Jim Carrey.  At 63, the Canadian-American comedian, producer, screenwriter, painter, and sculptor first made a name for himself in comedy before winning over audiences with darker, more introspective roles.

He notably starred in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), The Mask (1994), and Dumb and Dumber (1994). Known for his expressive, funny faces, he also shone in Me, Myself & Irene (2000) and Bruce Almighty (2003), before moving audiences with his performances in The Truman Show (1998), Man on the Moon (1999), The Majestic (2001). The audience gave him a standing ovation to celebrate his immense talent.

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The full list of 2026 César winners

Best film

• The Ties That Binds Us, directed by Carine Tardieu and produced by Fabrice Goldstein and Antoine Rein.
• Case 137, directed by Dominik Moll and produced by Caroline Benjo, Barbara Letellier and Carole Scotta.
• Nouvelle Vague, directed by Richard Linklater and produced by Michèle Pétin and Laurent Pétin.
• The Little Sister, directed by Hafsia Herzi and produced by Julie Billy and Naomi Denamur.
• It Was Just An Accident, directed by Jafar Panahi and produced by Philippe Martin.

Best actress

• Leïla Bekhti in Once Upon My Mother
• Valeria Bruni Tedeschi in The Ties That Binds Us
• Léa Drucker in Case 137
• Isabelle Huppert in The Richest Woman in the World
• Mélanie Thierry in La Chambre de Mariana

Best actor

• Claes Bang in The Great Arch
• Bastien Bouillon in Leave One Day
• Laurent Lafitte in The Richest Woman in the World
• Pio Marmaï in The Ties That Binds Us
• Benjamin Voisin in The Stranger

Best Supporting Actress

• Jeanne Balibar in Nino
• Dominique Blanc in Leave One Day
• Marina Foïs in The Richest Woman in the World
• Ji-Min Park in The Little Sister
• Vimala Pons in The Ties That Binds Us

Best Supporting Actor

• Swann Arlaud in The Great Arch
• Xavier Dolan in The Great Arch
• Michel Fau in The Great Arch
• Pierre Lottin in The Stranger 
• Raphaël Personnaz in The Richest Woman in The World

Best Male Revelation

• Idir Azougli in Meteors 
• Sayyid El Alami in La Pampa 
• Félix Lefebvre in Hearts on Fire
• Guillaume Marbeck in Nouvelle Vague 
• Théodore Pellerin in Nino 

Best Female Revelation

• Manon Clavel in Kika 
• Suzanne Lindon in Colours of Time
• Nadia Melliti in The Little Sister
• Camille Rutherford in Jane Austen Wrecked My Life
• Anja Verderosa in Hearts on Fire

Best Director

• Carine Tardieu for The Ties That Binds Us
• Dominik Moll for Case 137
• Stéphane Demoustier for The Great Arch
• Richard Linklater for Nouvelle Vague
• Hafsia Herzi for The Little Sister

Best Original Screenplay

• Dominik Moll and Gilles Marchand for Case 137
• Pauline Loquès for Nino
• Holly Gent and Vince Palmo for Nouvelle Vague
• Franck Dubosc and Sarah Kaminsky for How To Make A Killing
• Jafar Panahi for It Was Just An Accident

Best Adaptation

• Carine Tardieu, Raphaële Moussafir and Agnès Feuvre for The Ties That Binds Us
• Stéphane Demoustier for The Great Arch
• Hafsia Herzi for The Little Sister

Other nominations

Best Cinematography

• Elin Kirschfink for The Ties That Binds Us
• Patrick Ghiringhelli for Case 137
• Marine Atlan for The Girl in the Snow
• Manu Dacosse for The Stranger
• David Chambille for Nouvelle Vague

Best Animated Feature

• Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
• Arco
  
  My Castle Life: Growing Up in Versailles

Best First Feature Film

• Arco
• Hearts on Fire
• Nino
• La Pampa
• Leave On Day

Best Editing

• Stan Collet for 13 Days, 13 Nights
• Christel Dewynter for The Ties That Binds Us
• Laurent Rouan for Case 137
• Catherine Schwartz for Nouvelle Vague
• Géraldine Mangenot for The Little Sister

Best Sound

• Nicolas Becker, Andrea Ferrera and Damien Lazzerini for Arco
• Romain Cadilhac, Marc Nambard, Olivier Touche and Olivier Goinard for Whispers in the Woods
• François Maurel, Rym Debbarh-Mounir and Nathalie Vidal for Case 137
• Jean Minondo, Serge Rouquairol and Christophe Vingtrinier for Nouvelle Vague
• Rémi Chanac, Jeanne Delplanq, Fanny Martin and Niels Barletta for Leave One Day

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Best Production Design

• Jean-Philippe Moreaux for Dog 51
• Catherine Cosme for The Great Arch
• Riton Dupire-Clément for Once Upon My Mother
• Katia Wyszkop for Nouvelle Vague
• Marie Cheminial for Colours of Time

Best Original Music

• Arnaud Toulon for Arco
• Olivier Marguerit for Case 137
• Fatima Al Qadiri for The Stranger
• Alex Beaupain for The Richest Woman in the World
• Amine Bouhafa for The Little Sister

Best Costume Design

• Céline Guignard for La Condition
• Corinne Bruand for Dracula
• Jürgen Doering for The Richest Woman in the World
• Pascaline Chavanne for Nouvelle Vague
• Pierre-Yves Gayraud in Colours of Time

Best Visual Effects

• Cédric Fayolle for Dog 51 
• Rodolphe Chabrier and Benoît de Longlée for The Shrinking Man
• Lise Fischer for The Great Arch
• Alain Carsoux for Nouvelle Vague 

Best Documentary Film

• Ride Away
• Whispers in the Woods
• The Fifth Shot of La Jetée
• Sarkozy – Gaddafi: the Scandal of Scandals
• Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk 

Best Foreign Film

• The Secret Agent by Kleber Mendonça Filho
• Black Dog by Guan Hu
• Sirat by Oliver Laxe
• One Battle After Another by Paul Thomas Anderson
• Sentimental Value by Joachim Trier

Best Animated Short Film

• Les Belles cicatrices 
• God Is Shy
• Fille de l’eau

Best Documentary Short Film

• Au bain des dames 
• Car Wash 
• Ni Dieu ni père

Best Fiction Short Film

• Big Boys Don’t Cry 
• Two People Exchanging Saliva
• Mort d’un acteur
• Wonderwall