César Award for Best Documentary Film

Cinematography award

César Award for Best Documentary Film

Country| France
Presented by| Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma
First award| 1995
Currently held by| Four Daughters (2024)
Website| academie-cinema.org

The César Award for Best Documentary Film (French: César du meilleur film documentaire) is an award presented by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma since 1995.

## History

[edit]

In 1995, director Marcel Ophüls protested that his film, the documentary Vigils of Arms: A History of Wartime Journalism on the Bosnian War, was eligible only in the usual categories as a work of fiction. The César Academy exceptionally created the César for documentaries and documentary films, which did not satisfy Ophüls,[1] on the temporary nature of the award, he resigned from the Academy.[2]

The César for best documentary has been permanent since 2007.

Following a modification of the César rules on November 8, 2016, it is no longer possible for a film to combine the César for best documentary film with that for best film.[3]

## Winners and nominees

[edit]

### 1990s

[edit]

Year  | English title  | Original title  | Director(s)

|
|
|

1995
(20th)  | Caught in the Acts | Délits flagrants | Raymond Depardon
Bosna! | Alain Ferrari and Bernard-Henri Levy
Montand | Jean Labib
Tsahal | Claude Lanzmann
The Righteous | Tzedek | Marek Halter
Veillées d'armes | Marcel Ophuls
La Véritable Histoire d'Artaud le Mômo | Gérard Mordillat and Jérôme Prieur

### 2000s

[edit]

Year  | English title  | Original title  | Director(s)

|
|
|

2007
(32nd)  | Being Jacques Chirac | Dans la peau de Jacques Chirac | Michel Royer and Karl Zero
La Fille du juge | William Karel
Ici Najac, à vous la terre | Jean-Henri Meunier
Down There | Là-bas | Chantal Akerman
Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait | Zidane, un portrait du XXIème siècle | Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno
2008
(33rd)  | Terror's Advocate | L'Avocat de la terreur | Barbet Schroeder
Animals in Love | Les Animaux amoureux | Laurent Charbonnier
Les Lip, l'imagination au pouvoir | Christian Rouaud
Le Premier Cri | Gilles de Maistre
Back to Normandy | Retour en Normandie | Nicolas Philibert
2009
(34th)  | The Beaches of Agnès | Les Plages d'Agnès | Agnès Varda
Her Name Is Sabine | Elle s'appelle Sabine | Sandrine Bonnaire
Hollywood, I'm Sleeping Over Tonight | J'irai dormir à Hollywood | Antoine de Maximy
Tabarly | Pierre Marcel
Modern Life | La Vie moderne | Raymond Depardon

### 2010s

[edit]

Year  | English title  | Original title  | Director(s)

|
|
|

2010
(35th)  | Inferno | L'Enfer d'Henri-Georges Clouzot | Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Medrea
La Danse | La Danse, le ballet de l'Opéra de Paris | Frederick Wiseman
Himalaya, le chemin du ciel | Marianne Chaud
Home | Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Ne me libérez pas je m'en charge | Fabienne Godet
2011
(36th)  | Oceans | Océans | Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud
Benda Bilili! | Florent de la Tullaye and Renaud Barret
Cleveland vs. Wall Street | Cleveland contre Wall Street | Jean-Stéphane Bron
Into Our Own Hands | Entre nos mains | Mariana Otero
L'Amour fou | Yves Saint Laurent - Pierre Bergé, l'amour fou | Pierre Thoretton
2012
(37th)  | Tous au Larzac | Christian Rouaud
Le Bal des menteurs | Daniel Leconte
Crazy Horse | Frederick Wiseman
Here We Drown Algerians | Ici on noie les Algériens | Yasmina Adi
Michel Petrucciani | Michael Radford
2013
(38th)  | The Invisibles | Les Invisibles | Sébastien Lifshitz
Bovines ou la vraie vie des vaches | Emmanuel Gras
Duch, Master of the Forges of Hell | Duch, le maître des forges de l'Enfer | Rithy Panh
Journal de France | Claudine Nougaret and Raymond Depardon
The New Watchdogs | Les Nouveaux Chiens de garde | Gilles Balbastre and Yannick Kergoat
2014
(39th)  | Sur le chemin de l'école | Pascal Plisson
Comment j'ai détesté les maths | Olivier Peyon
The Last of the Unjust | Le Dernier des injustes | Claude Lanzmann
Il était une forêt | Luc Jacquet
La Maison de la radio | Nicolas Philibert
2015
(40th)  | The Salt of the Earth | Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado
Cartoonists - Foot Soldiers of Democracy | Caricaturistes - Fantassins de la démocratie | Stéphanie Valloatto
Les Chèvres de ma mère | Sophie Audier
School of Babel | La Cour de Babel | Julie Bertuccelli
National Gallery | Frederick Wiseman
2016
(41st)  | Tomorrow | Demain | Cyril Dion and Mélanie Laurent
The Pearl Button | El botón de nácar | Patricio Guzmán
Cavanna, jusqu'à l'ultime seconde, j'écrirai | Denis Robert and Nina Robert
The Missing Picture | L'Image manquante | Rithy Panh
Une jeunesse allemande | Jean-Gabriel Périot
2017
(42nd)  | Merci patron! | François Ruffin
Latest News From the Cosmos | Dernières nouvelles du Cosmos | Julie Bertucelli
Fire at Sea | Fuocoammare | Gianfranco Rosi
Swagger | Olivier Babinet
Journey Through French Cinema | Voyage à travers le cinéma français | Bertrand Tavernier
2018
(43rd)  | I Am Not Your Negro | Raoul Peck
A viva voz. La fuerza de la palabra | Stéphane de Freitas
Plot 35 | Carré 35 | Éric Caravaca
12 jours [fr] | Raymond Depardon
Faces Places | Visages villages | Agnès Varda, JR
2019
(44th)  | So Help Me God | Ni juge, ni soumise | Jean Libon, Yves Hinant
De chaque instant | Nicolas Philibert
The State Against Mandela and the Others | Nicolas Champeaux, Gilles Porte
America | Claus Drexel
The Grand Ball | Le grand bal | Laetitia Carton

### 2020s

[edit]

Year  | English title  | Original title  | Director(s)

|
|
|

2020
(45th)  | M | Yolande Zauberman
68, Mon Père | Samuel Bigiaoui
La Cordillère des Songes | Patricio Guzmán
Lourdes | Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai
Wonder boy Olivier Rousteing, né sous X | Anissa Bonnefont
2021
(46th)
[4] | Adolescents | Adolescentes | Sébastien Lifshitz
La Cravate | Etienne Chaillou and Mathias Théry
Cyrille Agriculteur, 30 Ans, 20 Vaches, Du Lait, Du Beurre, Des Dettes | Rodolphe Marconi
Histoire D’Un Regard | Mariana Otero
Un Pays Qui Se Tient Sage | David Du Fresne
2022
(47th) | The Velvet Queen | La panthère des neiges | Marie Amiguet [fr] and Vincent Munier
Animal | Cyril Dion
Bigger Than Us | Flore Vasseur
Gallant Indies | Indes galantes | Philippe Béziat
Those Who Care | Debout les femmes! | Gilles Perre and François Ruffin
2023

(48th)

| Returning to Reims (Fragments) | Retour à Reims (Fragments) | Jean-Gabriel Périot
Heart of Oak | Le Chêne | Laurent Charbonnier, Michel Seydoux
Jane by Charlotte | Jane par Charlotte | Charlotte Gainsbourg
Rookies | Allons Enfants | Thierry Demaizière, Alban Teurlai
The Super 8 Years | Les Années Super 8 | David Ernaux-Briot
2024

(49th)

| Four Daughters | بنات ألفة | Kaouther Ben Hania
Atlantic Bar | Fanny Molins
Little Girl Blue | Mona Achache
Our Body | Notre Corps | Claire Simon
On the Adamant | Sur l'Adamant | Nicolas Philibert
2025

(50th)

| The Belle from Gaza | La Belle de Gaza | Yolande Zauberman
The Bertrand's Farm | La Ferme des Bertrand | Gilles Perret
Bye Bye Tiberias | باي باي طبريا  | Lina Soualem
Dahomey | Mati Diop
Ernest Cole: Lost and Found | Raoul Peck
Madame Hofmann | Sébastien Lifshitz

## See also

[edit]

* Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
* BAFTA Award for Best Documentary
* Lumière Award for Best Documentary

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "CÉSARS : une récompense spécifique pour les " films-documents " a été créée, mercredi 11 janvier, par l'Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma". Le Monde.fr (in French). 1995-01-13. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
2. ^ "CINÉMA : Marcel Ophuls démissionne de l'Académie des Césars". Le Monde.fr (in French). 1995-01-21. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
3. ^ Mariscal, Olga; Lucchini, Sandra; Pellat-Finet, Noémie (2015-09-17), "À la bibliothèque, lire-chanter avec les auxiliaires parentales", Lire en chantant des albums de comptines, Érès, pp. 121–132, retrieved 2022-08-15121-132&rft.date=2015-09-17&rft.aulast=Mariscal&rft.aufirst=Olga&rft.au=Lucchini,+Sandra&rft.au=Pellat-Finet,+Noémie&rft_id=http://dx.doi.org/10.3917/eres.rayn.2015.01.0121&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:César+Award+for+Best+Documentary+Film" class="Z3988">
4. ^ "'Bye Bye Morons' Wins Best Film at France's Cesar Awards". Hollywood Reporter. 12 March 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* César Award for Best Documentary Film at AlloCiné

* v
* t
* e

César Award for Best Documentary Film

* Délits flagrants (1995)
* Dans la peau de Jacques Chirac (2007)
* L'Avocat de la terreur (2008)
* Les plages d'Agnès (2009)
* Inferno (2010)
* Océans (2011)
* Tous au Larzac (2012)
* Les Invisibles (2013)
* Sur le chemin de l'école (2014)
* Le sel de la terre (2015)
* Demain (2016)
* Merci patron! (2017)
* I Am Not Your Negro (2018)
* Ni juge, ni soumise (2019)
* M (2020)
* Adolescents (2021)
* The Velvet Queen (2022)
* Returning to Reims (Fragments) (2023)
* Four Daughters (2024)

* v
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César Awards

Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma (founded by Georges Cravenne)

Merit awards|

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Special awards|

* Honorary Award
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* Médaille d'Or

Retired awards|

* Film from the European Union (2002-2004)
* Poster (1986-1990)
* Producer (1995-1996)
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* Best French Language Film (1984-1986)
* Short Film (1992-2021)

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