Best Film Awards
The ceremony was created by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma in 1975. The first event took place on 3rd April 1976, under the presidency of iconic actor Jean Gabin. The name of the award comes from the avant-garde sculptor César Baldaccini, who designed the famous gold trophy.
Here are the films which have won the award in the coveted "Best French Film" category. Be prepared for a few surprises...
Lady Chatterley (2006)
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De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté (2005)
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L'Esquive (2003)
An urban love story on a Parisian housing estate, in which the hero, a young Arab, has to take a part in a Marivaux plan to win the girl he loves...Read full review...
Les Invasions barbares (2003)
A moving portrayal of a son moving Heaven and Earth to make his dying father's last few days as bearable as possible. The long awaited sequel to Denys Arcand's earlier great film, Le Déclin de l'empire américain.Read full review...
The Pianist (2002)
Based on a true story by the pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman, this stunningly realised wartime drama from Roman Polanski is a brutal, compelling work, easily one of the director's finest achievements.Read full review...
Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001)
This fairytale Parisian romance was a worldwide success, thanks to its surreal comic touches, distinctive photography and, most of all, the enchanting Audrey Tautou. A magical film.Read full review...
Le Goùt des autres (2000)
This sophisticated romantic comedy was a hit in France and features Jean-Pierre Bacri playing a businessman struggling to acquire a taste for art, with hilarious consequences.Read full review...
Vénus Beauté (Institut) (1999)
Three women working in a posh beauty clinic lead troubled love lives in this popular multi-layered comedy drama. Nathalie Baye gives a sublime performance as a middle-aged woman who is unable to cope with love.Read full review...
La Vie rêvée des anges (1998)
This poignant slice of life drama featuring two vulnerable young women trapped in their own dream world won critical acclaim for its director Erick Zonca and his two lead actors, Elodie Bouchez and Natacha Régnier.Read full review...
On connaît la chanson (1997)
Inspired by the musical dramas of Dennis Potter, this musical comedy is one of Alain Resnais' most engaging films - witty, intense and marvellously ironic.Read full review...
Ridicule (1996)
This lavish period drama set in the court of Versailles features a stunning top-notch cast which includes Charles Berling annd Fanny Ardant.Read full review...
La Haine (1995)
One of the most contraversial and talked about films of the 1990s, La Haine paints a disturbing picture of racial intolerance and exclusion. The harsh editing and unsettlingly fluid photography give the film a rare dramatic intensity.Read full review...
Les Roseaux sauvages (1994)
A charming depiction of adolescence set in a boarding school in Provence during the Algerian war. Beautifully filmed and acted, this remains one of Téchiné's best films to date.Read full review...
Les Nuits fauves (1992)
This intensely personal film tackles the whole issue of AIDS and the hedonistic youth culture with dazzling, indeed shocking, originality and honesty. The film is based on Cyril Collard’s 1989 novel, which is a near-autobiographical account of Collard’s own life after he discovered he was HIV positive.Read full review...
Tous les matins du monde (1991)
A sombre portrait of the celebrated court musician and composer Marin Marais, featuring two Depardieus (Gérard and son Guillaume) in the same role.Read full review...
Cyrano de Bergerac (1990)
Gérard Depardieu gives a towering performance as the famous swordmaster and poet Cyrano de Bergerac in this lavish swash-buckling film version of Edmond Rostand's play.Read full review...
Trop belle pour toi (1989)
A man dumps his beautiful wife (Carole Bouquet) for his dowdy secretary (Josiane Balasko). By flaunting conventions, Bertrand Blier gives us a film with surprising depth and meaning, in which he is marvellously served by a sublime cast.Read full review...
Camille Claudel (1988)
A dark, compelling portrait of the artist Camille Claudel, student and lover to the great sculptor Rodin. Features strong performances from Gérard Depardieu and Isabelle Adjani.Read full review...
Au revoir les enfants (1987)
Drawing on his own experiences as a child, Louis Malle paints this tender and highly poignant portrayal of childhood at the time of the Nazi occupation of France.Read full review...
Trois hommes et un couffin (1985)
The original "3 Men and a Baby" was this hilarious satire on fatherhood and modern living. It proved to be a staggering box office success in France.Read full review...
Les Ripoux (1984)
Philippe Noiret and Thierry Lhermitte play two crooked law enforcers in this outrageous satire on police corruption. Stylish and witty, this cult classic is one of Claude Zidi's best films.Read full review...
La Balance (1982)
Strong acting performances and well choreographed action scenes makes this one of the best and most realistic French crime thrillers of the 1980s.Read full review...
Le Dernier Métro (1980)
An emotionally charged drama in which the experiences of Nazi occupied France are seen through the lives of a closely knit community of theatre personnel. Depardieu and Deneuve are united on screen for the first time.Read full review...
Providence (1977)
Absorbing performances from Dirk Bogarde and John Gielgud make this characteristically baffling melange of drama and fantasy an enjoyable and slightly unsettling cinematic experience. One of Alain Resnais' most intriguing and haunting films.Read full review...
Monsieur Klein (1976)
A war-time drama in which an unscrupulous art dealer is drawn into a Kafkaesque nightmare. Made as a stylish policier, with a fine performance from Alain Delon, this is a compelling film.Read full review...