French Syndicate of Cinema Critics
The French Syndicate of Cinema Critics has awarded 4 prizes : the Prix Méliès annually since 1946 to the best French film of the year. The Prix Léon Moussinac, awarded to the Best Foreign Film category was added in 1967. Additionally it awards a Prix Novaïs-Texeira for short films since 1999 and a First Film prize since 2001.
It also organizes each year the International Critics' Week, the oldest parallel competitive section of the Cannes Film Festival.
Best French Film
1940s
- 1946: La Bataille du rail by René Clément
- 1947: Le Silence est d'or by René Clair
- 1948: Paris 1900 by Nicole Védrès
- 1949: Manon by Henri-Georges Clouzot
1950s
- 1950: Rendezvous in July by Jacques Becker
- 1951: Diary of a Country Priest by Robert Bresson
- 1952: Les Belles de nuit by René Clair
- 1953: The Wages of Fear by Henri-Georges Clouzot
- 1954: The Red and the Black by Claude Autant-Lara
- 1955: Rififi by Jules Dassin
- 1956: The Silent World by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Les Grandes Manœuvres by René Clair
- 1957: La Traversée de Paris by Claude Autant-Lara and A Man Escaped by Robert Bresson
- 1958: Mon Oncle by Jacques Tati
- 1959: Hiroshima mon amour by Alain Resnais and The 400 Blows by François Truffaut
1960s
- 1960: Le Trou by Jacques Becker and A bout de souffle by Jean-Luc Godard
- 1961: Last Year at Marienbad by Alain Resnais
- 1962: Cléo from 5 to 7 by Agnès Varda
- 1963: The Trial by Orson Welles
- 1964: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg by Jacques Demy
- 1965: The Shameless Old Lady by René Allio
- 1966: The War Is Over by Alain Resnais and Au Hasard Balthazar by Robert Bresson
- 1967: Belle de Jour by Luis Buñuel and Mouchette by Robert Bresson
- 1968: Stolen Kisses by François Truffaut
- 1969: My Night at Maud's by Éric Rohmer
1970s
- 1970: The Wild Child by François Truffaut
- 1971: Claire's Knee by Éric Rohmer
- 1972: The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie by Luis Buñuel
- 1973: Day for Night by François Truffaut
- 1974: Lacombe Lucien by Louis Malle
- 1975: Let Joy Reign Supreme by Bertrand Tavernier
- 1976: The Story of Adele H. by François Truffaut
- 1977: Providence by Alain Resnais
- 1978: Le dossier 51 by Michel Deville
- 1979: Perceval le Gallois by Éric Rohmer
1980s
- 1980: My American Uncle by Alain Resnais
- 1981: Coup de Torchon by Bertrand Tavernier and Garde à Vue by Claude Miller
- 1982: A Room in Town by Jacques Demy
- 1983: Pauline at the Beach by Éric Rohmer
- 1984: Full Moon in Paris by Éric Rohmer
- 1985: Death in a French Garden à by Michel Deville and Sans toit ni loi by Agnès Varda
- 1986: Thérèse by Alain Cavalier
- 1987: Goodbye, Children by Louis Malle
- 1988: The Little Thief by Claude Miller
- 1989: Mr. Hire by Patrice Leconte
1990s
- 1990: La Discrète by Christian Vincent
- 1991: The Beautiful Troublemake by Jacques Rivette
- 1992: A Heart in Winter by Claude Sautet
- 1993: Smoking/No Smoking by Alain Resnais
- 1994: by Krzysztof Kieślowski
- 1995: Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud by Claude Sautet
- 1996: Capitaine Conan by Bertrand Tavernier
- 1997: Same Old Song by Alain Resnais
- 1998: The Dreamlife of Angels by Erick Zonca
- 1999: Sachs' Disease by Michel Deville
2000s
- 2000: The Gleaners and I by Agnès Varda
- 2001: Amélie by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
- 2002: To Be and to Have by Nicolas Philibert
- 2003: La trilogie Un couple épatant, Après la vie and Cavale by Lucas Belvaux
- 2004: Kings and Queen by Arnaud Desplechin
- 2005: The Beat That My Heart Skipped by Jacques Audiard
- 2006: Private Fears in Public Places, by Alain Resnais
- 2007: The Secret of the Grain by Abdel Kechiche
- 2008: The Beaches of Agnès by Agnès Varda
- 2009: A Prophet by Jacques Audiard
2010s
- 2010: Of Gods and Men by Xavier Beauvois
- 2011: The Minister by Pierre Schöller
- 2012: Amour by Michael Haneke
- 2013: Blue Is the Warmest Colour by Abdellatif Kechiche
- 2014: Timbuktu by Abderrahmane Sissako
- 2015: Fatima by Phillipe Faucon
- 2016: Elle by Paul Verhoeven
- 2017: 120 Beats per Minute by Robin Campillo
- 2018: by Abdellatif Kechiche
Best Foreign Film
1960s
- 1968: Blowup by Michelangelo Antonioni
- 1969: Csillagosok, katonák by Miklós Jancsó
1970s
- 1970: Rosemary's Baby by Roman Polanski
- 1971: Andrey Rublyov by Andrei Tarkovsky
- 1972: Death in Venice by Luchino Visconti
- 1973: Roma by Federico Fellini
- 1974: Family Life by Ken Loach
- 1975: Amarcord by Federico Fellini
- 1976: Aguirre, the Wrath of God by Werner Herzog
- 1977: Cría cuervos by Carlos Saura
- 1978: Dersu Uzala by Akira Kurosawa
- 1979: The Tree of Wooden Clogs by Ermanno Olmi
1980s
- 1980: Not awarded
- 1981: The Elephant Man by David Lynch
- 1982: Christ Stopped at Eboli by Francesco Rosi
- 1983: The Night of the Shooting Stars by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani and Yol by Yılmaz Güney and Serif Gören
- 1984: Fanny and Alexander by Ingmar Bergman
- 1985: Paris, Texas by Wim Wenders
- 1986: The Purple Rose of Cairo by Woody Allen
- 1987: Hannah and Her Sisters by Woody Allen
- 1988: Wings of Desire by Wim Wenders
- 1989: The Dead by John Huston and Bagdad Café by Percy Adlon
1990s
- 1990: A Short Film About Killing by Krzysztof Kieślowski
- 1991: Dekalog by Krzysztof Kieślowski
- 1992: The Double Life of Véronique by Krzysztof Kieślowski
- 1993: Man Bites Dog by Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel and Benoît Poelvoorde and The Story of Qiu Ju by Zhang Yimou
- 1994: Raining Stones by Ken Loach
- 1995: Exotica by Atom Egoyan
- 1996: Land and Freedom by Ken Loach and Ulysses' Gaze by Theodoros Angelopoulos
- 1997: Secrets & Lies by Mike Leigh
- 1998: Hana-bi by Takeshi Kitano
- 1999: Life Is Beautiful by Roberto Benigni
2000s
- 2000: Eyes Wide Shut by Stanley Kubrick
- 2001: Yi Yi by Edward Yang
- 2002: No Man's Land by Danis Tanović
- 2003: Talk to Her by Pedro Almodóvar
- 2004: Elephant by Gus Van Sant
- 2005: Lost in Translation by Sofia Coppola
- 2006: A History of Violence by David Cronenberg
- 2007: Volver by Pedro Almodóvar
- 2008: The Lives of Others by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
- 2009: There Will Be Blood by Paul Thomas Anderson
2010s
- 2010: The White Ribbon by Michael Haneke
- 2011: Another Year by Mike Leigh
- 2012: Melancholia by Lars von Trier
- 2013: A Touch of Sin by Jia Zhangke
- 2014: Winter Sleep by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
- 2015: Son of Saul by László Nemes
- 2016: Aquarius by Kleber Mendonça Filho
Best First French Film
2000s
- 2001: Ressources humaines by Laurent Cantet
- 2002: De l'histoire ancienne by Orso Miret
- 2003: Se souvenir des belles choses by Zabou Breitman
- 2004: Since Otar Left by Julie Bertucelli
- 2005: Brodeuses by Éléonore Faucher
- 2006: Little Jerusalem by Karin Albou
- 2007: Le Pressentiment by Jean-Pierre Darroussin
- 2008: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
- 2009: Adieu Gary by Nassim Amaouche
2010s
- 2010: Belle Épine by Rebecca Zlotowski
- 2011: Angel & Tony by Alix Delaporte
- 2012: Louise Wimmer by Cyril Mennegun
- 2013: Me, Myself and Mum by Guillaume Gallienne
- 2014: Love at First Fight by Thomas Cailley
- 2015: The Wakhan Front by Clément Cogitore
- 2016: Dark Inclusion by Arthur Harari
Best First Foreign Film
- 2014: Harmony Lessons by Emir Baigazin
- 2015: Titli by Kanu Behl
- 2016: Dogs by Bogdan Mirică
Best Short Film
- 1984 : Coup de feu by Magali Clément
- 1999 : Les Aveugles by Jean-Luc Perréard
- 2000 : Ressources humaines by Laurent Cantet
- 2001 : Soufflé by Delphine Coulin
- 2002 : Intimisto by Licia Eminenti
- 2003 : Nosferatu Tango by Zoltán Horváth
- 2004 : Anna, 3 kilos 2 by Laurette Polmanss
- 2005 : Sous mon lit by Jihane Chouaib
- 2006 : Stricteternum by Julien Legrand