Carine Tardieu’s ‘L’Attachement’ Wins Best Film at 2026 César Awards
Paris – Carine Tardieu’s family drama, L’Attachement (The Ties That Bind Us), was awarded Best Film at the 51st annual César Awards in Paris on Thursday, February 26, 2026. Richard Linklater received the award for Best Director for Nouvelle Vague.
Key Winners at the 2026 César Awards
L’Attachement, which premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, centers on a woman who forms a unique bond with the children of her widowed neighbor. Valeria Bruni Tedeschi stars in the film. Vimala Pons won the César for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama.
Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague, an ode to the French New Wave, secured four awards including Best Director, Best Editing, Best Costumes, and Best Cinematographer. Linklater was not present in Paris to accept the award, but David Cronenberg announced his win, joking about the simplicity of directing.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another was recognized as Best International Film, beating out nominees including The Secret Agent, Black Dog, Sirāt, and Sentimental Value.
Other notable winners included Whispers in the Woods, which won Best Documentary and Best Sound, and Ugo Bienvenu’s Arco, which took home Best Animated Feature and Best Original Music for Arnaud Toulon.
Full List of Winners
- Best Film: L’Attachement directed by Carine Tardieu
- Best Director: Richard Linklater for Nouvelle Vague
- Best Actress: Léa Drucker in Dossier 137
- Best Actor: Laurent Lafitte in The Richest Woman in the World
- Best Supporting Actress: Vimala Pons in L’Attachement
- Best Supporting Actor: Pierre Lottin in The Stranger
- Best Female Hopeful: Nadia Melliti in The Little Last
- Best Male Hopeful: Théodore Pellerin in Nino
- Best Original Screenplay: Franck Dubosc and Sarah Kaminsky for A Bear in the Jura
- Best Adaptation: Carine Tardieu, Raphaële Moussafir and Agnès Feuvre for L’Attachement
- Best Original Music: Arnaud Toulon for Arco
- Best Animated Film: Arco by Ugo Bienvenu
- Best Documentary Film: The Song of the Forests by Vincent Munier
- Best First Film: Nino by Pauline Loquès
- Best Foreign Film: One Battle After Another by Paul Thomas Anderson
The César Awards, France’s equivalent of the Oscars, honored the best French films of 2025. The ceremony was presided over by actress Camille Cottin and co-hosted by actor Benjamin Lavernhe.