PARIS, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- At the 36th French Cesar Awards, or "French Oscars," Xavier Beauvois' "Of Gods and Men" won the Best Film award Friday night.

A tale of French monks killed during Algeria's civil war in the 1990's, the film also won honors for supporting actor Michael Lonsdale and cinematographer Caroline Champetier.

But the film lost the Best Director award to Roman Polanski's "The Ghost Writer" despite having received a sweeping 11 nominations.

Polanski's film took home most awards including Best Director, Best Adaptation, Best Music and Best Editing, four out of its eight nominations.

The Best Actor award went to Eric Elmosnino for his lead role in "Gainsbourg, Vie Heroique" (A Heroic Life). Best Actress went to Sara Forestier for her role in "Le Nom des Gens" (The Names of Love), and Best Supporting Actress was awarded to Anne Alvaro for her performance in "Le Bruit des Glacons" (The Clink of Ice).

David Fincher's "The Social Network," which is also a nominee at the Academy Awards in Hollywood on Sunday, easily won the hearts of the 4,179-member French Academy with a story on the founding of Facebook and took home the Best Foreign Film prize.