‘Sink or Swim,’ ‘Custody’ Lead Race for France’s Cesar Awards

French actor-turned-director Gilles Lellouche’s “Sink or Swim” and Xavier Legrand’s feature debut “Custody” lead the race for this year’s Cesar Awards, France’s equivalent of the Oscars, with 10 nominations each, including best picture and best director.

“Sink or Swim” (“Le Grand Bain” in France), a star-driven dramedy about a men’s synchronized swimming team, world-premiered at Cannes out of competition and was released by Studiocanal. The ensemble film, which was one of the highest-grossing French films in 2018, picked up a raft of nominations for best supporting actor and actress, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Philippe Katerine, Leila Bekhti and Virginie Efira.

“Custody” follows a boy named Julien (Thomas Gioria) who is forced by a court ruling to split his time between his mother (Léa Drucker) and estranged father (Denis Ménochet), whom he regards as a violent monster, amid his parents’ bitter divorce. “Custody” world-premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival, where it won two awards, and went on to play at Toronto in the competitive Platform section.

Both Pierre Salvadori’s comedy “En Liberté” and Jacques Audiard’s Western “The Sisters Brothers,” which stars Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly and Jake Gyllenhaal, received nine nominations, including for best film. Produced by Paris-based company Why Not, “The Sisters Brothers” world-premiered in Venice, where it earned Audiard a best director award. Audiard and Salvadori both received best director nods.

Emmanuel Finkiel’s “A Memoir of War,” an adaptation of Marguerite Duras’ semi-autobiographical novel, garnered eight nominations, followed by Jeanne Herry’s “In Safe Hands,” with seven. The latter film charts the long and heart-wrenching journey of a baby boy from his birth to the moment he finally gets adopted.

Alex Lutz’s “Guy” and Emmanuel Mouret’s French period drama “Mademoiselle de Joncquières” each earned six nominations.

More follows.