French director Jacques Audiard said he was "thrilled" after his musical Emilia Perez scooped 13 Oscar nominations this week, a record for a non-English-language film. His compatriot Coralie Fargeat and her film The Substance, starring Demi Moore, got five nods, including for best director.
Emilia Perez – the surreal telling of the gender transition of a Mexican drug lord – picked up nominations for best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay and best international film, as well as nods in the song, score and sound categories.
The movie's star Karla Sofia Gascon became the first openly trans nominee for best actress, while her co-star Zoe Saldana was nominated for best supporting actress.
Audiard said his film, a musical interspersed with Spanish dialogue, was an example of "hybrid cinema". "I wonder if it's becoming a trend – a desire to make films with different linguistic elements, unique actors, and distinctive themes," the 72-year-old told French news agency AFP.
Set in Mexico but filmed entirely in a Paris studio, the film won the Jury Prize and Best Performance by an Actress at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024. It also went on to win four Golden Globes earlier this month, including Best Musical.
Eight films from the Official Selection at Cannes made the Oscars shortlist this year, in 17 categories, totalling 31 nominations. Among them is the Cannes Palme d'Or winner Anora by Sean Baker, with six nominations.
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Criticism in Mexico
Despite its international success, Emilia Perez has faced criticism in Mexico, where it is accused of trivialising drug-related violence and the problem of missing people.
Audiard told reporters it was a topic "close to his heart," but admitted he might have "handled it clumsily".
"My intentions seem virtuous to me but I recognise there's an issue over there."
Audiard said he spent more than four years researching the film. "At some point you have to stop doing research because otherwise you end up doing a documentary," he said, adding: "It's an opera and an opera is not very realistic."
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This year's best director category features another French filmmaker, Coralie Fargeat, the only woman to be nominated for the award.
The Substance is the story of a fading movie star who is abruptly fired from her hit TV fitness show as she turns 50. It stars Demi Moore, who is nominated for best actress.
The film, which won Best Screenplay Award in Cannes in 2024, has received five Oscar nominations.
'The power of representation'
"I made this film with my guts and my heart, which is why it's so visceral and uncompromising. I'm proud that it resonated with audiences and voters. It means the film was understood," Fargeat told AFP.
"The most touching messages that I've received are from young women directors," she said after her nomination. "It makes us believe it's possible. I deeply believe in the power of representation."
The other 2025 best director nominees are Sean Baker for Anora, Brady Corbet for The Brutalist and James Mangold for A Complete Unknown.
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Only three women have won the best director award, beginning with American Kathryn Bigelow for her 2009 war film The Hurt Locker.
French Culture Minister Rachida Dati hailed the two French films in the category, saying they were "evidence once again of the genius of French cinema".
Audiard has previous experience of the Academy Awards, having seen his 2009 film A Prophet nominated in the best foreign language film category. "But it wasn't the same pressure," he said.
The Oscars ceremony is set for 2 March.
(with AFP)
