Isabelle Huppert’s “Elle” wins big at France's Lumiere Awards

PanARMENIAN.Net - Two Oscar nominees took home big prizes at France's Lumiere Awards, with Isabelle Huppert winning the best actress prize for her role in Elle and My Life as a Zucchini scoring a best animated film win, as the French foreign press academy handed out prizes during a ceremony held at the Madeleine Theater in Paris, The Hollywood Reporter reveals.

Paul Verhoeven's Elle was the big winner with three trophies, including best film, best director and Huppert's actress nod. It had been nominated in four categories, tied with Albert Serra's The Death of Louis XIV, Alain Guiraudie’s Staying Vertical and Stephane Brize’s A Woman’s Life.

Jean-Pierre Leaud won the best actor prize for his role as the titular king in The Death of Louis XIV, and the film also won in the best cinematography category.

Zucchini also won in the best screenplay category for Celine Sciamma, who won a special prize for her Girlhood from the academy in 2015.

While the awards — often referred to as the France's equivalent of the Golden Globes, though the 100-strong academy is made up of a wide swath of foreign journalists from 20 countries — were founded in 1995, they have been growing quickly both in scope and prestige in the last few years.

Divines, which was nominated for a Golden Globe in the best foreign-language category, won in the best first film category for director Houda Benyamina’s first feature, and young actresses Oulaya Amamra and Deborah Lukumuena were recognized for their "Revelation" performances.