The 50th César Awards Ceremony: Catherine Deneuve as President

The César ceremony, an emblematic celebration of French cinema, was founded in 1975, with its first edition taking place in April 1976. Originally broadcast by the public service, it has been shown free-to-air on Canal+ since 1994.

The organisers have announced that Catherine Deneuve will preside over the 50th ceremony, to be held on 28 February at the Olympia in Paris. She takes over from Valérie Lemercier, the actress and director who held the post the previous year.

In a joint statement, the Académie des César and Canal+ said: ‘Who better than an exceptional actress to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the César Awards?’

At the age of 80, Catherine Deneuve is an icon of French cinema, having appeared in over 140 films. She has worked with great directors such as Jacques Demy, Luis Buñuel and François Truffaut, as well as contemporary artists such as André Téchiné and Lars Von Trier. Despite a stroke in 2019 that kept her away from filming for a few months, she continues to work assiduously. She recently co-starred with her daughter Chiara Mastroianni in Marcello Mio, a film in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

The nominations for the 50th César Awards will be revealed on 29 January. The previous ceremony saw Justine Triet’s Anatomie d’une chute win the César for Best Film and Best Director.