Despite the controversies surrounding its lead star Karla Sofia Gason and director Jacques Audiard, 'Emilia Perez' emerged as the big winner at the 2025 César Awards in Audiard's home country of French.
- March 1, 2025
AceShowbiz - While Mexican community denounced "Emilia Perez" for its stereotype portrayal, director Jacques Audiard's dismissive comments about Spanish language, and Karla Sofia Gascon's offensive tweets, the French film industry happily embraced the controversial movie evidenced at the 50th Cesar Awards.
At the event held in Paris, "Emilia Perez" secured seven major awards including Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound, Original Music, Visual Effects, and Cinematography. Additionally, Jacques Audiard took home Best Director.
Karla Sofia Gascon, who confirmed her attendance at the upcoming Academy Awards despite her not-so-long-ago trashing the awards show for its diversity, was among the attendance on the red carpet.
Gascon was nominated for Best Actress along with co-star Zoe Saldana who has swept multiple wins during this year's awards season, but they lost to Hafsia Herzi for her performance in "Borgo".
Meanwhile, the anticipated favorite "The Count of Monte Cristo" only secured awards for Best Production Design and Best Costume despite its 14 nominations. Another unexpected victor was Boris Lojkine's "Souleymane's Story", which bagged four Cesars including Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for Nina Meurisse.
Other commendable winners included "Flow" for Best Animated Feature and Jonathan Glazer's "The Zone of Interest" clinching Best Foreign Film. The awards for rising stars were given to Maiwene Barthelemy for "Holy Cow" and Abou Sangare for "Souleymane's Story".
The 2025 Cesar Awards set the tone for a much-awaited Oscars night to follow, especially with "Emilia Perez" leading with 13 nominations.
