Broken Circle Breakdown claims César, misses Oscar

The Belgian film The Broken Circle Breakdown won the César last Friday evening for Best Foreign Feature. The Césars are France’s annual national awards, the highest film honour in the country. One of the film’s leads, Johan Heldenberg, was on hand to accept the award (pictured) in the absence of director Felix Van Groeningen, who was in LA preparing for the Academy Awards.

“It’s a very special prize,” said Heldenbergh after the ceremony. “It’s the first Flemish film to ever win it.” Known as Alabama Monroe in France, the film beat such contenders as space adventure Gravity, Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine and Italy’s La Grande bellezza. 

It couldn’t beat that last film, however, at the Academy Awards last night, where the Oscar for Best Foreign-Language Film went to the Italian favourite. “I was indeed a bit disappointed,” said Van Groeningen after the ceremony. “But this whole experience has been great. … The Broken Circle Breakdown has conquered the world, and maybe over the next few years we’ll win an Oscar. I hope so, and I believe we will.”

www.tinyurl.com/vangroeningenoscars 

photo: Corbis