French Syndicate of Cinema Critics
The French Syndicate of Cinema Critics has, each year since 1946, awarded a prize, the Prix Méliès, to the best French film of the preceding year. More awards have been added over time: the Prix Léon Moussinac for the best foreign film, added in 1967; the Prix Novaïs-Texeira for the best short film, added in 1999; prizes for the best first French and best first foreign films, added in 2001 and 2014, respectively; etc.
Each year, the Syndicate also organizes the Critics' Week, which is 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: Three Colors: Red 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 Abdellatif 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 Philippe Faucon
- 2016: Elle by Paul Verhoeven
- 2017: 120 Beats per Minute by Robin Campillo
- 2018: Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno by Abdellatif Kechiche
- 2019: Les misérables by Ladj Ly
2020s
- 2020: Les choses qu'on dit, les choses qu'on fait by Emmanuel Mouret
- 2021: Onoda, 10 000 nuits dans la jungle by Arthur Harari
- 2022: Pacifiction – Tourment sur les îles by Albert Serra
- 2023: Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet
Best Foreign Film
1960s
- 1967: Blowup by Michelangelo Antonioni
- 1968: The Red and the White by Miklós Jancsó
- 1969: Rosemary's Baby by Roman Polanski
1970s
- 1970: Andrey Rublyov by Andrei Tarkovsky
- 1971: Death in Venice by Luchino Visconti
- 1972: Roma by Federico Fellini
- 1973: Family Life by Ken Loach
- 1974: Amarcord by Federico Fellini
- 1975: Aguirre, the Wrath of God by Werner Herzog
- 1976: Cría cuervos by Carlos Saura
- 1977: Dersu Uzala by Akira Kurosawa
- 1978: The Tree of Wooden Clogs by Ermanno Olmi
- 1979: Not awarded
1980s
- 1980: Christ Stopped at Eboli by Francesco Rosi
- 1981: The Elephant Man by David Lynch
- 1982: The Night of the Shooting Stars by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani and Yol by Yılmaz Güney and Serif Gören
- 1983: Fanny and Alexander by Ingmar Bergman
- 1984: Paris, Texas by Wim Wenders
- 1985: The Purple Rose of Cairo by Woody Allen
- 1986: Hannah and Her Sisters by Woody Allen
- 1987: Wings of Desire by Wim Wenders
- 1988: The Dead by John Huston and Bagdad Café by Percy Adlon
- 1989: A Short Film About Killing by Krzysztof Kieślowski
1990s
- 1990: Dekalog by Krzysztof Kieślowski
- 1991: The Double Life of Véronique by Krzysztof Kieślowski
- 1992: Man Bites Dog by Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel and Benoît Poelvoorde and The Story of Qiu Ju by Zhang Yimou
- 1993: Raining Stones by Ken Loach
- 1994: Exotica by Atom Egoyan
- 1995: Land and Freedom by Ken Loach and Ulysses' Gaze by Theodoros Angelopoulos
- 1996: Secrets & Lies by Mike Leigh
- 1997: Hana-bi by Takeshi Kitano
- 1998: Life Is Beautiful by Roberto Benigni
- 1999: Eyes Wide Shut by Stanley Kubrick
2000s
- 2000: Yi Yi by Edward Yang
- 2001: No Man's Land by Danis Tanović
- 2002: Talk to Her by Pedro Almodóvar
- 2003: Elephant by Gus Van Sant
- 2004: Lost in Translation by Sofia Coppola
- 2005: A History of Violence by David Cronenberg
- 2006: Volver by Pedro Almodóvar
- 2007: The Lives of Others by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
- 2008: There Will Be Blood by Paul Thomas Anderson
- 2009: The White Ribbon by Michael Haneke
2010s
- 2010: Another Year by Mike Leigh
- 2011: Melancholia by Lars von Trier
- 2012: Tabu by Miguel Gomes
- 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
- 2017: Faute d'amour by Andreï Zviaguintsev
- 2018: Phantom Thread by Paul Thomas Anderson
- 2019: Parasite by Bong Joon-ho
2020s
- 2020: Drunk by Thomas Vinterberg
- 2021: Drive My Car by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
- 2022: Licorice Pizza by Paul Thomas Anderson
- 2023: The Fabelmans by Steven Spielberg
Best First French Film
2000s
- 2000: Human Resources by Laurent Cantet
- 2001: De l'histoire ancienne by Orso Miret
- 2002: Beautiful Memories by Zabou Breitman
- 2003: Since Otar Left by Julie Bertucelli
- 2004: A Common Thread by Éléonore Faucher
- 2005: Little Jerusalem by Karin Albou
- 2006: Premonition by Jean-Pierre Darroussin
- 2007: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
- 2008: Her Name Is Sabine by Sandrine Bonnaire
- 2009: Adieu Gary by Nassim Amaouche
2010s
- 2010: Dear Prudence 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
- 2017: Raw by Julia Ducournau
- 2018: Custody by Xavier Legrand
- 2019: Young and Alive by Matthieu Bareyre
2020s
- 2020: Josep by Aurel
- 2021: Skies of Lebanon by Chloé Mazlo
- 2022: Bruno Reidal, Confession d'un meurtrier by Vincent Le Port
- 2023: The Rapture by Iris Kaltenbäck
Best First Foreign Film
2010s
- 2014: Harmony Lessons by Emir Baigazin
- 2015: Titli by Kanu Behl
- 2016: Dogs by Bogdan Mirică
- 2017: I Am Not a Witch by Rungano Nyoni
- 2018: Girl by Lukas Dhont
- 2019: An Elephant Sitting Still by Hu Bo
2020s
- 2020: Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains by Gu Xiaogang
- 2021: Freda by Gessica Généus
- 2022: Joyland by Saim Sadiq
- 2023: 1976 by Manuela Martelli
Best French TV Series
2010s
- 2011: Mysteries of Lisbon by Raoul Ruiz
- 2012: Un village français by Frédéric Krivine, Philippe Triboit et Emmanuel Daucé
- 2013: The Returned by Fabrice Gobert et Frédéric Mermoud
- 2014: Three Times Manon by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade
- 2015: The Bureau by Eric Rochant
- 2016: The Bureau, series 2, by Eric Rochant
- 2017: Manon, 20 Years by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade
- 2018: Hippocrate by Thomas Lilti
- 2019: Savages by Rebecca Zlotowski & Sabri Louatah
2020s
- 2020: Possessions by Shachar Magen, directed by Thomas Vincent
- 2021: Nona et ses filles by Valérie Donzelli
- 2022: Le Monde de demain by Quillévéré et Hélier Cisterne, Vincent Poymiro, David Elkaïm with collaboration of Laurent Rigoulet
- 2023: Sambre by Alice Géraud, Marc Herpoux, directed by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade
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