The best French films of 2007?

The Prix Louis-Delluc is one of the most prestigious film awards in France, often prefiguring recognitions by other entities, such as the Césars. On Tuesday, the nominations for the 2007 "best film" designation were announced, giving us a good indication of what movies mark the highest artistic achievements this year in French film.

The nominees are:

• Actrices/Actress -- Directed by Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi (herself an actress), it is the story of two women who compare the different choices that they've made in life.
• Les Amours des Astrée et Céladon/The Romance of Astrea and Celadon -- The last film of the great director Eric Rohmer is a highly stylized rendering of a medieval romance between a shepherd and shepherdess.
• Avant que j'oublie/Before I Forget -- Actor/director Jacques Nolot plays an older gay man "battling his demons."
• Belle Toujours -- Manoel de Oliviera's sequel to the classic Luis Bunuel film, Belle de Jour, about a bourgeois woman who works during the day as a prostitute. 
• Les chansons d'amour/Love Songs -- A romantic musical, set in Paris.
• La Fille coupée en deux/The Girl Cut in Two -- Suspense master Claude Chabrol's black comedy about a woman "torn between two lovers."
• La graine et le mulet/The Secret of the Grain -- Abdel Kechiche, whose L'Esquive won a "best film" César a few years ago, directed this story of an old man's dream of owning restaurant.
• Les Témoins/The Witnesses -- Noted director André Téchiné's chronicle of the HIV/AIDS crisis in France.

Where, you might ask, is Persepolis, the animated film that has received some of the best reviews of the year? It's in the "best first film" category, along with Au delà de la haine/Beyond Hatred, Et toi t'es sur qui?/Just about Love, Naissance des pieuvres/Water Lilies, and Tout est pardonné/All is Forgiven.

The winners will be announced on December 12.