At the 30th annual Lumière Awards, held on Monday at the Forum des Images in Paris, Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez emerged as the biggest winner, claiming five prestigious prizes. The ceremony, considered France’s counterpart to the Golden Globes, saw the Spanish-language, Mexico-set crime musical sweep the evening with awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Script, Best Actress (Karla Sofía Gascón), and Best Music (Camille and Clément Ducol).
The Lumière Awards, voted on by journalists from 38 countries, honored Emilia Pérez for its compelling narrative and stellar performances. The film follows Gascón as Manitas del Monte, a notorious cartel leader who stages her own death to live authentically as a trans woman. The star-studded cast includes Selena Gomez as Jessi, Manitas’ troubled wife, and Zoe Saldaña as Rita, a gifted yet overworked lawyer who aids Emilia in her quest for a new life. Since its triumph at Cannes, where it won the Jury Prize and Best Female Ensemble, the film has earned widespread international acclaim, including recognition at the Golden Globes, where it claimed four wins, including Best Musical or Comedy.
Audiard, who has already made a significant mark on the Lumière Awards, set a new record with this year’s victories. Emilia Pérez marks his third Best Film win, following The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2006) and The Sisters Brothers (2019), and his fourth Best Director award, after A Prophet (2010), Rust and Bone (2013), and The Sisters Brothers (2019).
In addition to Emilia Pérez, the ceremony recognized other standout films. Souleymane’s Story, directed by Boris Lojkine, earned Abou Sangare the Best Actor award for his portrayal of a Guinean immigrant navigating the streets of Paris as a bike courier ahead of his asylum interview. The film, which premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes, also won Sangare the Best Actor prize there.
Holy Cow, a contemporary western by Louise Courvoisier, was awarded Best Feature Debut, while Clement Faveau won Best Male Newcomer for his role as Totone, a young man who must take on unexpected responsibilities after his father’s sudden death.
The Kingdom, a family crime drama set in 1995 Corsica by Julien Colonna, garnered Ghjuvanna Benedetti the Best Female Newcomer award for her role as Lesia, the 15-year-old daughter of a mafia boss.
Other notable awards included Best Documentary for Mati Diop’s Dahomey, a film addressing the restitution of colonial treasures, and Best Animated Feature for Flow, a Latvian indie film by Gints Zilbalodis, which also triumphed at the Golden Globes. The Best International Co-Production award went to Mohammad Rasoulof’s Iranian political drama The Seed of the Sacred Fig.
Nicolas Bolduc took home the Best Cinematography award for his work on The Count of Monte Cristo, an epic adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic tale.
The Lumière Awards, which marks the beginning of France’s awards season, concluded the 2024 Rendez-Vous With French Cinema, a festival organized by Unifrance. The Cesar Awards, France’s equivalent of the Oscars, will take place on February 28.
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