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| the film "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" wins the best
French film of 2005. |
Jacques Audiard's "De battre mon coeur s'est arrete" (The Beat That My
Heart Skipped) continued its winning streak Tuesday, waltzing off with the prize for best French
film of 2005 at the 11th annual Lumiere
Awards ,
France's local version of the Golden Globes.
Centering on a young man who yearns to escape his businessman father's
influence to become a concert pianist, the remake of James Toback's 1978
cult film "Fingers" has swept
a number of French and international awards.
The feature was named best film by the French Critics' Union and the
French Cinema Press Golden Stars awards, was tapped best picture at the
European Film Festival in Seville, Spain, and took the trophy for best non-English-language film at
Sunday's British Academy Film Awards in London.
On Saturday (February 25), the film will compete for 10 Cesars
-- France's top film honors -- including best film, director and actor.
"Beat" lead Romain Duris was named best actor at the Lumieres. Isabelle
Huppert won the prize for best actress for her role in "Gabrielle,"
director Patrice Chereau's adaptation of Joseph Conrad's novel "The
Return." "Gabrielle" is a contender for six Cesars.
The prize for best director went to French writer-director Philippe
Garrel for "Les Amants
Reguliers " (Regular Lovers). The drama, which is shot in
black-and-white and stars Louis Garrel, the director's son, scooped a
Silver Lion and a prize for photography at the Venice Film Festival last
year and best film at France's Louis Delluc awards in December.
The prize for best screenplay went to Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke
for his French-language political-themed thriller "Cache" (Hidden), which
he also directed. Belgian filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's Cannes
festival Palme d'Or winner "L'enfant" (The Child) won the prize for best
Francophone film. Both "L'Enfant" and "Hidden" have received four
nominations for the Cesars.
Johan Libereau was named best male newcomer for his role in Antony
Cordier's "Douches Froides" (Cold Showers), and Fanny Valette won best
female newcomer for Karin Albou's "La Petite Jerusalem."
Radu Mihaeleanu's "Va, vis et
deviens" (Go, See and Become) won the Prix du Public
audience award introduced this year and voted onvia the
Internet by viewers of international French-language channel TV5
Monde across the globe.
The Lumieres were presented at a low-key ceremony at Paris' Cinema des
Cineastes movie hall Tuesday night by the Academie des Lumieres, whose
member base of 200 Paris-based foreign correspondents vote to decide on
the honors.
(Agencies)
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Updated: 2006-02-23 13:00
