César / Best first work
Winner and nominee of the French César film award in the category Best First Work (Meilleur premier film) . For the first time, winners were chosen in this newly created category for the award of first works in 1982.
The films listed below are given with their German distribution title (if identifiable), followed by the original French title and the name of the director in brackets in italics. The French original title is not mentioned if the German and French film titles are identical. The winners are highlighted first.
1980s
1982
Diva - Director: Jean-Jacques Brilleix
- Le jardinier - Director: Jean-Pierre Sentier
- An Affair Between Men (Une affaire d'hommes) - Director: Nicolas Ribowski
- Schnee (Neige) - Directors: Jean-Henri Roger and Juliet Berto
1983
Mourir à trente ans - Director: Romain Goupil
- Josepha - Director: Christopher Frank
- Cold Blood (Tir groupé) - Director: Jean-Claude Missiaen
- Lettres d'amour en Somalie - Director: Frédéric Mitterrand
1984
Rue Cases Nègres - Director: Euzhan Palcy
- Le destin de Juliette - Director: Aline Issermann
- The last fight (Le dernier combat) - Director: Luc Besson
- Trace of Time (La trace) - Director: Bernard Favre
1985
Dangerous Trains (La diagonale du fou) - Director: Richard Dembo
- Boy Meets Girl - Director: Leos Carax
- Souvenirs, Souvenirs (Souvenirs, souvenirs) - Director: Ariel Zeitoun
- Two fish on dry land (Marche à l'ombre) - Director: Michel Blanc
1986
Tea in the Harem of Archimedes (Le thé au harem d'Archimède) - Director: Mehdi Charef
- Harem - Director: Arthur Joffé
- La nuit porte-jarretelles - Director: Virginie Thévenet
- Strictly personal (strictement personnel) - Director: Pierre Jolivet
1987
The woman of my life (Femme de ma vie) - Director: Régis Wargnier
- Black Mic-Mac (Black mic-mac) - Director: Thomas Gilou
- I hate actors! (Je hais les acteurs) - Director: Gérard Krawczyk
- Black and White (Noir et blanc) - Director: Claire Devers
1988
L'œil au beurre noir - Director: Serge Meynard
- Avril Brisé - Director: Liria Bégéja
- Flag - Directed by Jacques Santi
- Le jupon rouge - Director: Geneviève Lefebvre
- Le moine et la sorcière - Director: Suzanne Schiffman
1989
Life is a long, calm river (La vie est un long fleuve tranquille) - Director: Étienne Chatiliez
- Camille Claudel - Director: Bruno Nuytten
- Chocolat - Verbotene Sehnsucht (Chocolat) - Director: Claire Denis
- Nocturnal Longing - Uninhibited (Drôle d'endroit pour une rencontre) - Director: François Dupeyron
1990s
1990
A world without pity (Un monde sans pitié) - Director: Éric Rochant
- Bastards (Peaux de vaches) - Director: Patricia Mazuy
- La salle de bain - Director: John Lvoff
- Suivez cet avion - Director: Patrice Ambard
- Death plays with (La soule) - Director: Michel Sibra
- Tolérance - Director: Pierre-Henry Salfati
1991
The Secretive (La discrète) - Director: Christian Vincent
- Halfaouine - Time of Dreams (Halfaouine - l'enfant des terrasses) - Director: Férid Boughedir
- Mado, poste restante - Director: Aleksandr Adabashyan
- Outremer - Director: Brigitte Roüan
- Weekend for Two (Un week-end sur deux) - Director: Nicole Garcia
1992
Delicatessen - directed by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet
- L'autre - Director: Bernard Giraudeau
- Les arcandiers - Director: Manuel Sanchez
- Fortune Express - Director: Olivier Schatzky
- Lune froide - Director: Patrick Bouchitey
1993
Wilde Nights (Les nuits fauves) - Director: Cyril Collard
- Small fish, big fish (Riens du tout) - Director: Cédric Klapisch
- Nord - Director: Xavier Beauvois
- The Guard (La sentinelle) - Director: Arnaud Desplechin
- The Zebra (Le zèbre) - Director: Jean Poiret
1994
The scent of green papaya (Odeur de la papaye verte) - Director: Trần Anh Hùng
- Le fils du requin - Director: Agnès Merlet
- The Killer and the Girl (Cible émouvante) - Director: Pierre Salvadori
- Lola loves black and white (Métisse) - Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
- Crazy - For Love (Les gens normaux n'ont rien d'exceptionnel) - Director: Laurence Ferreira Barbosa
1995
When Men Fall (Regarde les hommes tomber) - Director: Jacques Audiard
- The Resurrection of Colonel Chabert (Le colonel Chabert) - Director: Yves Angelo
- Mina Tannenbaum - Director: Martine Dugowson
- Die Sandburg (Petits arrangements avec les morts) - Director: Pascale Ferran
- Over-the-top and crazy (Personne ne m'aime) - Director: Marion Vernoux
1996
No problem! (Les trois frères) - Directed by Didier Bourdon and Bernard Campan
- Have (or not) (En avoir (ou pas)) - Director: Laetitia Masson
- Pigalle - Director: Karim Dridi
- Raisin - Director: Christine Carrière
- Angry (Etat des lieux) - directed by Jean-François Richet and Patrick Dell'Isola
1997
Is there snow at Christmas? (Y aura-t-il de la neige à Noël?) - Director: Sandrine Veysset
- Bernie - Director: Albert Dupontel
- Encore - Again and again the women ... (Encore) - Director: Pascal Bonitzer
- Lies of Love (L'appartement) - Director: Gilles Mimouni
- Mikrokosmos - The people of the grasses (Microcosmos, le peuple de l'herbe) - directed by Claude Nuridsany and Marie Pérennou
1998
Didier - Director: Alain Chabat
- L'autre côté de la mer - Director: Dominique Cabrera
- Les démons de Jésus - Director: Bernie Bonvoisin
- The Life of Jesus (La vie de Jésus) - Director: Bruno Dumont
- Mein Leben in Rosarot (Ma vie en rose) - Director: Alain Berliner
1999
Dieu seul me voit - Director: Bruno Podalydès
- Le gone du Chaâba - Director: Christophe Ruggia
- Hinterland (L'arrière-pays) - Director: Jacques Nolot
- Jeanne et le garçon formidable - directed by Jacques Martineau and Olivier Ducastel
- Love life (La vie rêvée des Anges) - Director: Erick Zonca
2000s
2000
Late Journey (Voyages) - Director: Emmanuel Finkiel
- La bûche - Director: Danièle Thompson
- High hearts (Haut les cœurs!) - Director: Sólveig Anspach
- Carnival - Director: Thomas Vincent
- Record hunter (Les convoyeurs attendent) - Director: Benoît Mariage
2001
Der Jobkiller (Ressources humaines) - Director: Laurent Cantet
- Traces of blood (Scenes de crimes) - Director: Frédéric Schoendoerffer
- Uneasy Rider (Nationale 7) - Director: Jean-Pierre Sinapi
- La squale - Director: Fabrice Genestal
2002
No Man's Land (Ničija zemlja) - Director: Danis Tanovic
- My wife, the actress (Ma femme est une actrice) - Director: Yvan Attal
- Grégoire Moulin against the rest of the world (Grégoire Moulin contre l'humanité) - Director: Artus de Penguern
- Nomads of the Skies - The Secret of the Migratory Birds (Le peuple migrateur) - Directed by Jacques Perrin , Michel Debats and Jacques Cluzaud
- A swallow makes the summer (Une hirondelle a fait le printemps) - Director: Christian Carion
2003
Claire - Se souvenir des belles choses (Se souvenir des belles choses) - Director: Zabou Breitman
- Irène - Director: Ivan Calbérac
- Carnages - Director: Delphine Gleize
- Filles perdues, cheveux gras - Director: Claude Duty
- Bad, Bad Things (Mon idole) - Director: Guillaume Canet
2004
Ever since Otar left ... (Depuis qu'Otar est parti ...) - Director: Julie Bertuccelli
- The great race of Belleville (Les triplettes de Belleville) - Director: Sylvain Chomet
- A camel is more likely to go through the eye of a needle ... (Il est plus facile pour un chameau ...) - Director: Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi
- Père et fils - Director: Michel Boujenah
- Who Killed Bambi? (Qui a tué Bambi?) - Director: Gilles Marchand
2005
When the tide comes (Quand la mer monte…) - Directed by Gilles Porte and Yolande Moreau
- A unique opportunity (Violence des échanges en milieu tempéré) - Director: Jean-Marc Moutout
- The children of Monsieur Mathieu (Les choristes) - Director: Christophe Barratier
- Die Perlenstickerinnen (Brodeuses) - Director: Éléonore Faucher
- Podium - Director: Yann Moix
Darwin's Nightmare - Director: Hubert Sauper
- Anthony Zimmer - Director: Jérôme Salle
- Douches froides - Director: Antony Cordier
- The Journey of the Penguins (La marche de l'empereur) - Director: Luc Jacquet
- My little Jerusalem (La petite Jérusalem) - Director: Karin Albou
You are a handsome man (Je vous trouve très beau) - Director: Isabelle Mergault
- 13 Tzameti - Director: Géla Babluani
- Les fragments d'Antonin - Director: Gabriel Le Bomin
- Mauvaise foi - Director: Roschdy Zem
- Forgive me (Pardonnez-moi) - Director: Maïwenn
Persepolis (Persépolis) - directed by Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi
- Ceux qui restent - Director: Anne Le Ny
- Et toi t'es sur qui? - Director: Lola Doillon
- Water Lilies (Naissance des pieuvres) - Director: Celine Sciamma
- Tout est pardonné - Director: Mia Hansen-Løve
I love you for so many years (Il ya longtemps que je t'aime) - Director: Philippe Claudel
- Home - Director: Ursula Meier
- Masquerades (Mascarades) - Director: Lyes Salem
- Without Guilt (Pour elle) - Director: Fred Cavayé
- Versailles - Director: Pierre Schoeller
2010s
Boys stay boys (Les beaux gosses) - Director: Riad Sattouf
- Le dernier pour la route - Director: Philippe Godeau
- Espion (s) - Director: Nicolas Saada
- Meet the Elisabeths! (La première étoile) - Director: Lucien Jean-Baptiste
- First one, then all (Qu'un seul tienne et les autres suivront) - Director: Léa Fehner
Gainsbourg - The man who loved women (Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque)) - Director: Joann Sfar
- The Order Lover (L'arnacœur) - Director: Pascal Chaumeil
- Simon Werner is missing (Simon Werner a disparu…) - Director: Fabrice Gobert
- Tête de turc - Director: Pascal Elbé
- Tout ce qui brille - directed by Géraldine Nakache and Hervé Mimran
The Pig of Gaza (Le cochon de Gaza) - Director: Sylvain Estibal
- 17 girls (17 filles) - directed by Muriel and Delphine Coulin
- Angèle and Tony (Angèle et Tony) - Director: Alix Delaporte
- Nathalie kisses (La délicatesse) - directed by Stéphane and David Foenkinos
- My Little Princess - Director: Eva Ionesco
Louise Wimmer - Director: Cyril Mennegun
- Augustine - Director: Alice Winocour
- Comme des frères - Director: Hugo Gélin
- Mademoiselle Populaire (Populaire) - Director: Régis Roinsard
- 40 Brothers (Rengaine) - Director: Rachid Djaïdani
Maman and I (Les garçons et Guillaume, à table!) - Director: Guillaume Gallienne
- The President and My Children (La bataille de Solférino) - Director: Justine Triet
- Between the waves (En solitaire) - Director: Christophe Offenstein
- La fille du 14 juillet - Director: Antonin Peretjatko
- Portugal, mon amour (La cage dorée) - Director: Ruben Alves
Love at first stroke (Les combattants) - Director: Thomas Cailley
- Elle l'adore - Director: Jeanne Herry
- Alice and the Sea (Fidelio, l'odyssée d'Alice) - Director: Lucie Borleteau
- Party Girl - Directed by Marie Amachoukeli , Claire Burger , Samuel Theis
- Qu'Allah bénisse la France - Director: Abd al Malik
Mustang - Director: Deniz Gamze Ergüven
- L'affaire SK1 - Director: Frédéric Tellier
- Les cowboys - Director: Thomas Bidegain
- Ni le ciel ni la terre - Director: Clément Cogitore
- Nous trois ou rien - Director: Kheiron Tabib
Divines - Director: Houda Benyamina
- Cigarettes et chocolat chaud - Director: Sophie Reine
- The Dancer (La danseuse) - Director: Stéphanie Di Giusto
- Diamant Noir - Director: Arthur Harari
- Rosalie Blum - Director: Julien Rappeneau
Petit Paysan - Director: Hubert Charuel
- Bonjour Paris (Jeune femme) - Director: Léonor Serraille
- Lieber Leben (Patients) - Director: Grand Corps Malade and Mehdi Idir
- The Poetry of Love (Monsieur & Madame Adelman) - Director: Nicolas Bedos
- Raw (Grave) - Director: Julia Ducournau
Shéhérazade - Director: Jean-Bernard Marlin
- L'amour flou - Director: Romane Bohringer , Philippe Rebbot
- Les chatouilles - directed by Andréa Bescond , Éric Métayer
- After the Judgment (Jusqu'à la garde) - Director: Xavier Legrand
- Sauvage - Director: Camille Vidal-Naquet
2020s
Papicha - Director: Mounia Meddour
- Atlantique - Director: Mati Diop
- Au nom de la terre - Director: Édouard Bergeon
- The Wolf's Call - Decision in the Deep (Le chant du loup) - Director: Antonin Baudry
- The Furious - Les misérables (Les misérables) - Director: Ladj Ly