Lumière Awards: François Ozon’s ‘The Stranger’ Leads Nominations; Jodie Foster Up For Best Actress & Natalie Portman Animation Also In Running
François Ozon’s Albert Camus adaptation The Stranger leads the nominations for France’s Lumière Awards which were announced on Friday.
The feature, which world premiered at the Venice Film Festival, is nominated in six categories including best film, director, screenplay, actor, cinematography and music.
The prizes, which are France’s equivalent of the Golden Globes, are focused on French-language cinema and are voted on by members of the international press hailing from 36 countries.
Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague has five nominations, followed by Dominik Moll’s Case 137 and Stéphane Demoustier’s The Great Arch with four each, and then Abdellatif Kechiche’s Mektoub My Love: Canto Due, Pauline Loquès’ and Vincent Munier’s Whispers in the Woods.
Ozon’s black and white adaptation of Albert Camus’s classic 1942 novella The Stranger world premiered in competition in Venice, while Linklater’s ode to the French new wave Nouvelle Vague,
The nominations for best international coproduction include Oscar and Golden Globe hopefuls Sentimental Value, It Was Just An Accident and The Voice Of Hind Rajab.
International names in the nomination mix include Jodie Foster for best actress for her starring role as psychiatrist who is convinced one of her patients has been murdered A Private Life.
Denmark’s Claes Bang is up for best actor for his performance as idiosyncratic Danish architect Johan Otto von Spreckelsen in The Great Arch, while Natalie Portman produced Arco, which is in the running for best animation.
The awards ceremony will take place in Paris on January 18, 2026, coinciding with Unifrance’s Rendez-Vous in Paris, when international press will be in the French capital for junkets with French directors and acting talent.
Full List of Nominations
Best Film
- Case 137, Dominik Moll
- The Stranger, François Ozon
- The Great Arch, Stéphane Demoustier
- Mektoub My Love: Canto Due, Abdellatif Kechiche
- Nouvelle Vague, Richard Linklater
Best Direction
- Stéphane Demoustier, The Great Arch
- Abdellatif Kechiche, Mektoub My love: Canto Due
- Richard Linklater, Nouvelle Vague
- Dominik Moll, Case 137
- François Ozon, The Stranger
Best Screenplay
- Stéphane Demoustier, The Great Arch
- Holly Gent, Vince Palmo, Michèle Halberstadt, Nouvelle Vague
- Pauline Loquès, Nino
- Dominik Moll, Gilles Marchand, Case 137
- François Ozon, The Stranger
Best Documentary
- Whispers in the Woods, Vincent Munier
- Tell Her That I Love Her, Romane Bohringer
- Lumière!, The Adventure Continues, Thierry Frémaux
- Sarkozy – Gaddafi: the Scandal of Scandals, Yannick Kergoat
- Put Your Soul On Your Hand and Walk, Sepideh Farsi
Best Animation
- Amélie Or The Character of Rain, Liane-Cho Han and Mailys Vallade
- Arco, Ugo Bienvenu
- My Life In Versailles, Nathaniel H’Limi and Clémence Madeleine-Perdrillat
- A Magnificent Life, Sylvain Chomet
- A Boat In The Garden, Jean-François Laguionie
Best Actress
- Léa Drucker, Case 137
- Jodie Foster, A Private Life
- Isabelle Huppert, The Richest Woman In The World
- Vicky Krieps, Love Me Tender
- Mélanie Thierry, Mariana’s Room
Best Actor
- Swann Arlaud, La Condition
- Claes Bang, The Great Arch
- Laurent Lafitte, The Richest Woman in the World
- Alexis Manenti, The Mohican
- Benjamin Voisin, The Stranger
Female Revelation
- Manon Clavel, Kika
- Bella Kim, Winter in Sokcho
- Nadia Melliti, The Little Sister
- Jessica Pennington, Mektoub My Love: Canto Due
- Anja Verderosa, Trial by Fire
Male Revelation
- Idir Azougli, Meteors
- Younès Boucif, La Petite Cuisine De Mehdi
- Guillaume Marbeck, Nouvelle Vague
- Théodore Pellerin, Nino
- Eloy Pohu, Enzo
Best First Film
- The Girl in the Snow, Louise Hémon
- Little Jaffna, Lawrence Valin
- Nino, Pauline Loquès
- Block Pass, Antoine Chevrollier
- That Summer in Paris, Valentine Cadic
Best International Coproduction
- The Secret Agent, Kleber Mendonça Filho
- Afternoons of Solitude, Albert Serra
- It Was Just An Accident, Jafar Panahi
- Sentimental Value, Joachim Trier
- The Voice of Hind Rajab, Kaouther Ben Hania
Cinematography
- Marine Atlan, The Girl in the Snow
- David Chambille, Nouvelle Vague
- Manu Dacosse, The Stranger
- Pascal Lagriffoul, The Condition
- Vincent Munier, Antoine Lavorel and Laurent Joffrion, Whispers in the Woods
Best Music
- Fatima Al Qadiri, The Stranger
- Amine Bouhafa, The Little Sister
- Warren Ellis, Dom La Nena et Rosemary Standley, Whispers in the Woods
- ROB, Vie Privée
- Arnaud Toulon, Arco