2024 Windie Award Winners
MUBI’S THE SUBSTANCE WINS BIG AT THE 2024 WINDIE AWARDS PRESENTED BY CHICAGO INDIE CRITICS WITH SEVEN WINS.
Finishing their ninth year as a recognized awards-voting body and haven for film critics of diverse backgrounds and talents, the Chicago Indie Critics have announced the 2024 winners of their Windie Awards. The voting film critic members completed their final 27-category ballots this past week. The Chicago Indie Critics presented their 2024 Windie Award winners on the evening of January 16th, 2025 at a private invitation-only Awards Party.
Leading all nominated films with seven total Windie Award wins is The Substance, the breakout body-horror film directed by Coralie Fargeat and released by MUBI. Fargeat herself earned four awards: Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, Best Breakout Artist, and as a producer on Best Independent Film. The Substance also earned Windie Awards for Best Actress for Demi Moore and Best Supporting Actress for Margaret Qualley. The CIC made sure to respect the balance there! Lastly, Pierre-Olivier Persin wrapped up the Windie haul for The Substance with a win for Best Makeup.
The next winningest films at the 2024 Windie Awards was an impressive five-way tie with three wins each for The Brutalist, Dune: Part Two, Nosferatu, Sing Sing, and The Wild Robot. Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi blockbuster Dune: Part Two was named Best Studio film, and two technical awards in Best Sound and Best VFX. Brady Corbet’s sprawling American epic, The Brutalist, took home Best Actor for Adrien Brody, and then shared Best Production Design with Robert Egger’s chilling remake of Nosferatu. In another tie, Guy Pearce of The Brutalist shared Best Supporting Actor honors with Clarence Maclin of Sing Sing, whose real life experiences shaped the film itself.
Nosferatu was named the Windie Award winner in both Best Cinematography and Best Costumes, while Sing Sing was named Best Ensemble. Clarence Maclin also took home a second award in Best Breakout Performance. Lastly, the animated adventure with a beating heart known as The Wild Robot, was named for Best Animated Film, Best Score, and The Wild Robot herself, Lupita N’yongo, took home the Sight Unseen Performance award. In other top categories, Flow was named the Best Foreign Film and CIC believed a man could fly as they declared Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, the Best Documentary of this past year. In a special category of local recognition, the Chicago Indie Critics annually presents The Impact Award. The distinction celebrates a group or person whose work during the past year or beyond had a positive influence on the Chicagoland film community. This year’s Impact Award winner is Kyle Cubr, programmer at Chicago’s famed Music Box Theatre. Mr. Cubr organized last June’s Godzilla vs. Music Box anniversary event which drew big roars and big crowds. The proud voting body of the Chicago Indie Critics congratulates Mr. Cubr and all of the Windie Award winners.
ABOUT CHICAGO INDIE CRITICS
Chicago Indie Critics (CIC) is a creative and engaging not-for-profit organization composed of unique, dedicated, and diversified film critics organized by Illinois Indie Critics NFP. Our members are wide-ranging in experiences, backgrounds, tastes, diversities, and target audiences across both print and online platforms and publications. We have organized to share our personal assessments, commentaries, passions, and creativity in the vigilant effort to highlight the greatness and diversity found in both independent and mainstream films. While we originate in the Chicagoland area, the efforts of Chicago Indie Critics are to share, celebrate, and promote the rich artistic medium of film to audiences, fans, and eager minds across the nation and world as an exemplary and upstanding pillar of intelligent print and broadcast journalism.
Directors: Matt Kubinski, Don Shanahan, Andrea Thompson
Members: Jim Alexander, Victor Aragon, Annie Banks, George Bate, Josh Bate, Noah Berlatsky, Leo Brady, Nicholas Caruso, Mike Crowley, Bonnie De Shong, Tarek Fayoumi, Adam Freed, Everardo Garcia Jr., Cati Glidewell, Ryan Jagiello, Dave Lane, James Y. Lee, Al Lerner, Linda Lerner, Kyle Logan, Alex Maidy, Kevin McLenithan, Curtis Menke, Mike Osborn, Dan Pal, Josh Parham, Adam Patla, Reggie Ponder, John Robinson, Jay Rohr, Jordy Sirkin, Peter Spedale, El’Ahrai Stanek, Kevin Wozniak, Jeff York, Nicholas Zednick
And The Winner of the Windie Is…
BEST INDEPENDENT FILM
The Substance
Producers: Coralie Fargeat, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner
BEST STUDIO FILM
Dune: Part Two
Producers: Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe, and Denis Villeneuve
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Flow
Producers: Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens, and Gregory Zalcman
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Director and Producers: Robert Ford, Lizzie Gillett, Ian Bonhôte, Connor Schell, and Libby Geist
BEST ANIMATED FILM
The Wild Robot
Director and Producer: Chris Sanders and Jeff Hermann
BEST DIRECTOR
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes
BEST ACTOR
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
BEST ACTRESS
Demi Moore – The Substance
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (tie)
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
BEST ENSEMBLE
Sing Sing
Casting Director: Greg Kwedar
BEST BREAKOUT PERFORMER
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
BEST BREAKOUT ARTIST
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
SIGHT UNSEEN PERFORMANCE
Lupita Nyong’o – The Wild Robot
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Nosferatu – Jarin Blaschke
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN (tie)
The Brutalist – Judy Becker
Nosferatu – Craig Lathrop
BEST EDITING
Challengers – Marco Costa
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Nosferatu – Linda Muir
BEST MAKEUP
The Substance – Pierre-Olivier Persin
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Dune: Part Two – Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, and Gerd Nefzer
BEST STUNTS
Monkey Man
Stunt Coordinator: Udeh Nans
BEST SOUND
Dune: Part Two – Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett, and Doug Hemphill
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Compress/Repress” – Challengers
Songwriters: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Luca Guadagnino
THE IMPACT AWARD
Given to individual or group who has made a positive impact on local Chicago cinema
Kyle Cubr – Programmer, Music Box Theatre
WINDIE AWARD WINNERS BY THE NUMBERS:
7: The Substance
3: The Brutalist, Dune: Part Two, Nosferatu, Sing Sing, The Wild Robot
2: Challengers
1: Flow, Monkey Man, Nickel Boys, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
