2018 CIFCC Awards

February 2, 2019:

“IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK,” “BLACK PANTHER,” “BLACKKKLANSMAN” AND “ROMA” LEAD ALL WINNERS AT THE CHICAGO INDEPENDENT FILM CRITICS CIRCLE’S THIRD ANNUAL CIFCC AWARDS

The 21 prolific members of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle casted their final ballots this week to declare the winners of 21 categories for their third annual CIFCC Awards. At special ceremony this evening hosted by the Cards Against Humanity Theater in Chicago, the film critics and guests gathered to honor the year in film, celebrate member accomplishments, and promote overall group achievements. The event was streamed live over the CIFCC YouTube channel.

The wealth was spread as four films each garnered three awards to lead all winners. Annapurna’s If Beale Street Could Talk directed by Barry Jenkins was named Best Independent Film and was also recognized for Best Supporting Actress and Best Musical Score. The leading nominee entering the evening, Marvel’s blockbuster Black Panther directed by Ryan Coogler, took home the Best Studio Film, Best Ensemble, and Best Costume Design and Makeup awards from its eleven nominations. Through his latest accomplishment, BlacKkKlansman from from Focus Features, Spike Lee had his name called three times between Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Impact Award wins. Finally, Alfonso Cuarón’s passion project Roma from Netflix was named Best Foreign Film and cited for Best Cinematography and Best Editing.

In two special award categories of distinction, the Trailblazer Award honoring the work of an artist who truly pushed the boundaries of the medium in terms of form and content was awarded to local filmmaker Bing Liu on the strength of his Best Documentary winner Minding the Gap. As aforementioned, Spike Lee of BlacKkKlansman was named the recipient of the Impact Award. That honor celebrates a person whose work has had a positive impact on society. In all, eleven different films won CIFCC Awards this year.

Founded in 2016, the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle (CIFCC) is a creative and engaging non-for-profit organization composed of unique, dedicated, and diversified film critics. Its members are wide-ranging in experiences, backgrounds, tastes, diversities, and target audiences across both print and online platforms and publications. The CIFCC organized to share their personal assessments, commentaries, passions, and creativity in the vigilant effort to highlight the greatness and diversity found in both independent and mainstream films. While they originate in the Chicagoland area, the efforts of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle 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.

The complete list of the winners of the 2018 CIFCC Awards:

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM

If Beale Street Could Talk

Megan Ellison, DeDe Gardner, Barry Jenkins, Jeremy Kleiner, Adele Romanski, and Sara Murphy (producers)

BEST STUDIO FILM

Black Panther

Kevin Feige (producer)

BEST FOREIGN FILM

Roma

Alfonso Cuarón, Gabriela Rodriguez, and Nicolas Celis (producers)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Minding the Gap

Bing Liu and Diane Quon (producers)

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Avi Arad, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Amy Pascal, and Christina Steinberg (producers)

BEST DIRECTOR

BlacKkKlansman

Spike Lee

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Eighth Grade

Bo Burnham

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

BlacKkKlansman

Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee

BEST ACTOR

First Reformed

Ethan Hawke

BEST ACTRESS

Eighth Grade

Elsie Fisher

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Richard E. Grant

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

If Beale Street Could Talk

Regina King

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

Black Panther

Sarah Finn (casting director)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Roma

Alfonso Cuarón

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

The Favourite

Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton

BEST COSTUME DESIGN AND MAKEUP

Black Panther

Ruth E. Carter, Joel Harlow, Camille Friend, and Ken Diaz

BEST EDITING

Roma

Alfonso Cuarón and Adam Gough

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

If Beale Street Could Talk

Nicholas Britell

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

First Man

Paul Lambert, J.D. Schwaim, Ian Hunter, and Tristan Myles

SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARDS

TRAILBLAZER AWARD

Bing Liu for Minding the Gap

IMPACT AWARD

Spike Lee for BlacKkKlansman

CIFCC AWARD WINNERS BY THE NUMBERS:

3: Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, If Beale Street Could Talk, Roma

2: Eighth Grade, Minding the Gap

1: Can You Ever Forgive Me?, The Favourite, First Man, First Reformed, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

THE CHICAGO INDEPENDENT FILM CRITICS CIRCLE ANNOUNCES ITS NOMINEES FOR THEIR THIRD ANNUAL CIFCC AWARDS

The Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle has announced their nominees for the third annual CIFCC Awards. The voting members completed ballots to compile five nominees for 21 categories. CIFCC critics will commence a final round of voting ending on February 1, 2019. The 2018 CIFCC Award winners will be announced on the evening of February 2, 2019. A celebratory invitation-only private event will be held at the Cards Against Humanity Theater in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago.

Fans and followers can watch the awards event live-streaming on the CIFCC’s YouTube channel.

Leading all films with an impressive eleven nominations is the acclaimed comic book blockbuster Black Panther from director Ryan Coogler. The 32-year-old Oakland-born filmmaker is himself nominated for four different CIFCC Awards this year. Alfonso Cuarón’s highly regarded foreign language film Roma and the scathing Yorgos Lanthimos dark comedy The Favourite carry nine nominations each. Five of Roma’s nine nominations match work by the prolific Cuarón. Following closely is the tautly introspective historical drama First Man from Damien Chazelle, a previous CIFCC Award winner for La La Land, earned eight nominations. In all, there are 37 different nominated films included across the 21 total categories of the 2018 CIFCC Awards.

Two awards of special recognition and interest are the annual Trailblazer and Impact Awards. The CIFCC’s Trailblazer Award honors the work of an artist who truly pushed the boundaries of the medium in terms of form and content. Nominated this year are filmmakers Ryan Coogler (Black Panther), Alfonso Cuarón (Roma), Bing Liu (Minding the Gap), Adam McKay (Vice), and Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You). The Impact Award celebrates a person whose work during the past year made positive impact on society. The nominees include Brian Andreotti of Chicago’s Music Box Theatre and filmmakers Bo Burnham (Eighth Grade), Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians), Ryan Coogler (Black Panther), and Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman).

Founded in 2016, the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle (CIFCC) is a creative and engaging non-for-profit organization composed of unique, dedicated, and diversified film critics. Its members are wide-ranging in experiences, backgrounds, tastes, diversities, and target audiences across both print and online platforms and publications. The CIFCC organized to share their personal assessments, commentaries, passions, and creativity in the vigilant effort to highlight the greatness and diversity found in both independent and mainstream films. While they originate in the Chicagoland area, the efforts of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle 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.

COMPLETE LIST OF CIFCC AWARD NOMINATIONS

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM (budgets under $20 million)

Eighth Grade

First Reformed

Hereditary

If Beale Street Could Talk

Roma

BEST STUDIO FILM (budgets over $20 million)

Annihilation

Black Panther

First Man

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

A Star is Born

Vice

BEST FOREIGN FILM

Burning

Cold War

The Guilty

Roma

Shoplifters

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Free Solo

Minding the Gap

RBG

Three Identical Strangers

Won’t You Be My Neighbor

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Big Fish & Begonia

Incredibles 2

Isle of Dogs

Ralph Breaks the Internet

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

BEST DIRECTOR

Ari Aster- Hereditary

Ryan Coogler- Black Panther

Alfonso Cuarón- Roma

Spike Lee- BlacKkKlansman

Lynne Ramsey- You Were Never Really Here

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Eighth Grade- Bo Burnham

The Favourite– Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara

First Reformed- Paul Schrader

Roma– Alfonso Cuarón

Vice– Adam McKay

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Black Panther– Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole

BlacKkKlansman– Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Spike Lee

Can You Ever Forgive Me?– Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty

If Beale Street Could Talk– Barry Jenkins

Leave No Trace– Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini

A Star is Born– Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, and Will Fetters

BEST ACTOR

Christian Bale- Vice

Bradley Cooper- A Star is Born

Ryan Gosling- First Man

Ethan Hawke- First Reformed

Joaquin Phoenix- You Were Never Really Here

BEST ACTRESS

Yalitza Aparicio- Roma

Toni Collette- Hereditary

Olivia Colman- The Favourite

Elsie Fisher- Eighth Grade

Lady Gaga- A Star is Born

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Mahershala Ali- Green Book

Adam Driver- BlacKkKlansman

Sam Elliott- A Star is Born

Hugh Grant- Paddington 2

Richard E. Grant- Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Michael B. Jordan- Black Panther

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Elizabeth Debicki- Widows

Claire Foy- First Man

Regina King- If Beale Street Could Talk

Emma Stone- The Favourite

Rachel Weisz- The Favourite

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

Avengers: Infinity War

Black Panther

The Favourite

If Beale Street Could Talk

Widows

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Cold War– Lukasz Zal

The Favourite– Robbie Ryan

First Man– Linus Sandgren

If Beale Street Could Talk– James Laxton

Roma– Alfonso Cuarón

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Annihilation– Mark Digby and Michelle Day

Black Panther– Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart

Crazy Rich Asians– Nelson Coates and Andrew Baseman

The Favourite– Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton

First Man– Nathan Crowley and Kathy Lucas

Roma– Eugenio Caballero and Barbara Enriquez

BEST COSTUME DESIGN AND MAKEUP

Black Panther– Ruth E. Carter (costumes), Joel Harlow, Camille Friend, and Ken Diaz (makeup)

The Favourite– Sandy Powell (costumes), Nadia Stacey (hair and makeup)

Mary Poppins Returns- Sandy Powell (costumes), Peter Swords King (makeup)

Suspiria– Giulia Piersanti (costumes) Fernanda Perez (makeup)

Vice– Susan Matheson (costumes), Kate Biscoe (makeup)

BEST EDITING

The Favourite– Yorgos Mavropsaridis

First Man– Tom Cross

Roma– Alfonso Cuarón and Adam Gough

A Star is Born– Jay Cassidy

Widows– Joe Walker

BEST MUSICAL SCORE

Annihilation- Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury

Black Panther- Ludwig Goransson

First Man- Justin Hurwitz

If Beale Street Could Talk- Nicholas Britell

Mandy– Jóhann Jóhannsson

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Annihilation– Richard Clarke, Simon Hughes, Andrew Whitehurst, and Sara Bennett

Avengers: Infinity War– Dan Deleeuw, Kelly Port, Russell Earl, and Dan Sudick

Black Panther– Geoffrey Baumann, Jesse James Chisholm, Craig Hammack, and Dan Sudick

First Man– Paul Lambert, J.D. Schwaim, Ian Hunter, and Tristan Myles

Ready Player One– Roger Guyett, Grady Cofer, Matthew E. Butler, and David Shirk

SPECIAL AWARDS

TRAILBLAZER AWARD

Ryan Coogler for Black Panther

Alfonso Cuarón for Roma

Bing Liu for Minding the Gap

Adam McKay for Vice

Boots Riley for Sorry to Bother You

IMPACT AWARD

Brian Andreotti for the Music Box Theatre

Bo Burnham for Eighth Grade

Jon M. Chu for Crazy Rich Asians

Ryan Coogler for Black Panther

Spike Lee for BlacKkKlansman

CIFCC AWARD NOMINATIONS BY THE NUMBERS:

11: Black Panther

9: The Favourite, Roma

8: First Man

6: If Beale Street Could Talk, A Star is Born

5: Vice

4: Annihilation, BlacKkKlansman,

3: Eighth Grade, First Reformed, Hereditary, Widows

2: Avengers: Infinity War, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Cold War, Crazy Rich Asians, Minding the Gap, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, You Were Never Really Here

1: Big Fish & Begonia, Burning, Free Solo, The Guilty, Green Book, Incredibles 2, Isle of Dogs, Leave No Trace, Mandy, Paddington 2, Ralph Breaks the Internet, RBG, Ready Player One, Shoplifters, Suspiria, Three Identical Strangers, Won’t You Be My Neighbor

2018 AWARDS TIMELINE

Nominations announced January 27, 2019

Winner announced February 2, 2019