The crime film "In der Nacht des 12." enforced by Dominik Moll. At the awards ceremony in Paris, the thriller by the German-born French director ("Harry means well with you") was awarded the main prize for best film. The film takes up the theme of femicide and tells the true story of an unsolved case of a woman set on fire alive.

Moll also took home the Best Director trophy and shared Best Adapted Screenplay with Gilles Marchand. The film, which premiered in Cannes in 2022, was awarded a total of six trophies.

The thriller "As Bestas" by Spanish director Rodrigo Sorogoyen won the César for best foreign film. It is about the deadly conflict between a French couple who have moved to Spain and the locals of a Spanish village. The 41-year-old had already made an international name for himself with films such as "The Power of Money" and "The Murders of Madrid".

Activists fetched from the stage

The honorary César went to the American director David Fincher, who was present at the gala in the famous Paris concert hall L'Olympia. The 60-year-old's best-known films include "Seven", "Fight Club", "The Game" and "Mank". To everyone's surprise, Hollywood star Brad Pitt, with whom Fincher has made several films, appeared. Good evening, his name is Brad Pitt and he is a survivor of Fincher's films he joked. Fincher is a perfectionist. He admires and adores him with all his heart and is delighted to be part of this tribute to one of the greatest storytellers.

Pitt's performance caused an ovation that lasted for minutes. An unexpected appearance was also that of a climate activist at the beginning of the gala, who had on her t-shirt: We have 761 days left (We have 761 days left). She was removed from the stage by security forces after a few minutes.

Best Actor twice - Magimel on a winning streak

Benoît Magimel, 48, was named Best Actor for his performance in Albert Serra's Pacifiction. Filmed in Tahiti, the thriller follows a high-ranking French official and rumors of nuclear tests. It was the first time that an actor had won two Césars in a row in this category: the previous year he had received the award for "Let in Love".

The 45-year-old Virginie Efira was best actress. In Alice Winocour's "Revoir Paris" she plays a survivor of the bloody attack on the Bataclan concert hall in Paris in November 2015 alongside Magimel.

The César, named after the sculptor César Baldaccini, is the French version of the Oscar film awards. It has been awarded since 1976.