'Artist' wins Lumiere best pic

PARIS -- Gaul's kudos season started Friday with Michel Hazanavicius' "The Artist" winning best film and actress for Berenice Bejo within the Lumieres Honours, french comparable to the Golden Globes. The pic, that's been by having an award-winning spree since bowing at Cannes, which is nommed for six Golden Globes, outshine other Cannes game game titles competing for your Lumieres best film jerk: Pierre Schoeller's "The Minister," Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache's hit comedy "Intouchables," Bertrand Bonello's "Apolonide" and Aki Kaurismaki's "Le Havre," champion in the Louis Delluc prize, that's given out by French experts. "The Artist," which was produced by Thomas Langmann's La Petite Reine, was released Stateside in November with the Weinstein Co. Competing against Hazanavicius, Bonello and Kaurismaki, Maiwenn acquired helmer on her behalf third feature, "Polisse," a gritty ensemble drama concentrating on cops your son or daughter protection unit. Omar Sy, who stars opposite Francois Cluzet in "Intouchables," won actor, beating out "The Artist's" Jean Dujardin, among other strong competitors. Before his breakthrough performance in "Intouchables," Sy was most broadly known in France just like a smallscreen comic on "SAV," a normal comedy demonstrate that airs on Canal Plus. Sy also starred in Nakache and Toledano's previous two films, "People Happy Days" and "So Happy Together." "Intouchables," Gaul's second finest B.O. hit ever, was produced by Quad Films and co-produced by Gaumont. Weinstein Co. has acquired the film for multiple areas, including U.S. distribution and remake rights. Denis Menochet nabbed newcomer for his part in "Ces Adoptes," a family group dramedy that marks the directorial debut of thesp Melanie Laurent ("Inglourious Basterds") while three of "Apollonide's" thesps, Alice Barnole, Adele Haenel and Celine Sallette, shared the feminine newcomer prize. Quebec helmer Denis Villeneuve's heart-wrenching drama "Incendies," with various follow Wajdi Mouawad, won for foreign film inside the French language. An important success, "Incendies" repped Canada in last year's foreign-language film Oscar race. Happening through the Unifrance's small-market, Rendez-Vous, the Lumieres Honours are selected on by foreign correspondents situated in Paris. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com