PARIS - Director Xavier Beauvois on Friday won best film award for his "Des Hommes et des Dieux" in France's version of the Oscars, the Cesars, and said the movie about monks kidnapped and murdered in Algeria shed some "intelligence" on the 1996 event.

Accepting the award Beauvois described the film as a "message of equality, liberty, fraternity" - referring to the French creed - and called for "brotherliness" toward French Muslims.

The best director award went to Roman Polanski for "The Ghost Writer" while Eric Elmosnino was best actor in "Gainsbourg (vie heroique)" and Sara Forestier picked up the best actress prize for her part in "Le nom des gens."