January 3, 2021:

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM AND THE LATE CHADWICK BOSEMAN LEAD ALL WINNERS AT THE 5TH ANNUAL FILM AWARDS FROM CHICAGO INDIE CRITICS

The 17 dedicated and talented members of Chicago Indie Critics cast their final ballots this week to declare the winners of 23 categories for their fifth annual film awards. Recorded for video presentation on the group’s YouTube channel, the CIC film critics came together to celebrate the year and recognize the best in film for 2020.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, directed by George C. Wolfe and adapted from August Wilson’s stage play, dominated this year’s CIC Awards, winning seven of its nine nominations. Topmost, the Netflix original film was named the Best Studio Film in a tie with another offering from the streaming leader, Best Director winner Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom also won awards for adapted screenplay, lead actor, lead actress, ensemble cast, costume design, and makeup.

Starring in both of those victorious films, beloved late actor Chadwick Boseman was prominently honored by the CIC. Boseman won posthumous awards for Best Actor (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Best Supporting Actor (Da 5 Bloods), and special recognition as the recipient of the group’s Impact Award celebrating a person whose work during the past year or beyond made a positive influence on society. Also of note, Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland won Best Independent Film and Small Axe anthology filmmaker Steve McQueen won the CIC’s Trailblazer Award honoring the work of an artist who truly pushed the boundaries of the medium in terms of form and content.

The complete list of the winners of the 2020 CIC Awards:

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM (budgets under $20 million)

NOMADLAND

Producers: Frances McDorman, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, and Chloe Zhao

BEST STUDIO FILM (budgets over $20 million)

DA 5 BLOODS (tie)

Producers: John Kilik, Spike Lee, Beatriz Levin, and Lloyd Levin

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM (tie)

Producers: Denzel Washington, Todd Black, and Dany Wolf

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

HIS HOUSE

Producers: Aidan Elliott, Martin Gentles, Arnon Milchan, Ed King, and Roy Lee

BEST DOCUMENTARY

BOYS STATE

Producers: Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss

BEST ANIMATED FILM

SOUL

Producers: Dana Murray

BEST DIRECTOR

Spike Lee, DA 5 BLOODS

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN – Emerald Fennell (tie)

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 – Aaron Sorkin (tie)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM – Ruben Santiago-Hudso

BEST ACTOR

Chadwick Boseman, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

BEST ACTRESS

Viola Davis, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Chadwick Boseman, DA 5 BLOODS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Maria Bakalova, BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Donald Graham Burt, MANK

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Joshua James Richards, NOMADLAND

BEST EDITING

Alan Baumgarten, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

BEST MUSICAL SCORE

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, SOUL

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Speak Now” – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

Written by Leslie Odom Jr. and Sam Ashworth, Performed by Leslie Odom Jr

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Jonathan Dearing and Dan Oliver, THE INVISIBLE MAN

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Ann Roth, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

BEST MAKEUP

Matiki Anoff, Sergio Lopez-Rivera, and Mia Neal, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

SPECIAL AWARDS

TRAILBLAZER AWARD 

Honors the work of an artist who truly pushes the boundaries of the medium in terms of form and content

Steve McQueen

IMPACT AWARD

Given to a person whose work has had a positive impact on society

Chadwick Boseman

---

CIC AWARD WINS BY THE NUMBERS

7: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

3: Da 5 Bloods

2: Nomadland, Soul, The Trial of the Chicago 7

1: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Boys State, His House, The Invisible Man, Mank, One Night in Miami, Promising Young Woman

---

2020 CIC AWARD NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCEMENT

December 28, 2020:

NINE NOMINATIONS FOR MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM LEAD ALL FILMS AS THE CHICAGO INDIE CRITICS ANNOUNCE THEIR NOMINEES FOR THEIR FIFTH ANNUAL AWARDS

Even in this challenging year, quality cinema still lived on! The Chicago Indie Critics have announced their nominees for their fifth annual film awards. The voting members completed ballots to select nominees in 23 categories. The CIC members will commence a final round of voting ending on January 1, 2021. The 2020 CIC Award winners will be announced on the evening of January 2, 2021 in an online presentation posted on their YouTube Channel.

Leading all films with an impressive nine nominations is Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom helmed by Best Director nominee George C. Wolfe and starring acting nominees Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis. Following next with seven nominations each was David Fincher’s Mank and Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7, both also hailing from Netflix. In all, 45 different films are represented with nominations for the 2020 CIC Awards.

Two awards of special recognition and interest are the annual Trailblazer and Impact Awards. The CIC’s Trailblazer Award honors the work of an artist who truly pushed the boundaries of the medium in terms of form and content. The Impact Award celebrates a person whose work during the past year or beyond made a positive influence on society. Beloved double-acting nominee Chadwick Boseman of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Da 5 Bloods and Nomadland filmmaker Chloe Zhao are included in both fields.

The other nominees this year for 2020 Trailblazer Award include filmmakers Radha Blank (The 40-Year-Old Version), Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), and Steve McQueen (Small Axe). For the Impact Award, the late actor and female filmmaker are joined by Music Box Theatre general manager Ryan Oestreich, McHenry Outdoor Theater owner Scott H. Dehn, and documentarian Garrett Bradley (Time).

Founded in 2016, the Chicago Indie Critics (formerly known as the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle) 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, and target audiences across both print and online platforms and publications. The CIC 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 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 the world as an exemplary and upstanding pillar of intelligent print and broadcast journalism.

---

The complete list of nominees for the 2020 CIC Awards:

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM (budgets under $20 million)

THE FATHER

Producers: David Parfitt, Jean-Louis Livi, Philippe Carcassone, Christophe Spadone, Simon Friend

FIRST COW

Producers: Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani

NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS

Producers: Adele Romanski, Sara Murphy

NOMADLAND

Producers: Frances McDorman, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, Chloe Zhao

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

Producers: Margot Robbie, Josey McNamara, Ben Browning, Ashley Fox, Emerald Fennell

BEST STUDIO FILM (budgets over $20 million)

DA 5 BLOODS

Producers: John Kilik, Spike Lee, Beatriz Levin, and Lloyd Levin

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

Producers: Denzel Washington, Todd Black, and Dany Wolf

MANK

Producers: Cean Chaffin, Eric Roth, Douglas and Urbanski

SOUL

Producers: Dana Murray

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Producers: Stuart M. Besser, Matt Jackson, Marc Platt, and Tyler Thompson

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

ANOTHER ROUND

Producers: Sisse Graum Jorgensen

BACURAU

Producers: Emilie Lesclaux, Said Ben Said, and Michel Merkt

BEANPOLE

Producers: Alexander Rodnyansky, Sergey Melkumov, and Natalia Gorina

HIS HOUSE

Producers: Aidan Elliott, Martin Gentles, Arnon Milchan, Ed King, and Roy Lee

THE LIFE AHEAD

Producers: Carlo Degli Esposti, Nicola Serra, Regina K. Scully, and Jamie Wolf

BEST DOCUMENTARY

BOYS STATE

Producers: Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss

DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD

Producers: Katy Chevigny and Marilyn Ness

RISING PHOENIX

Producers: John Battsek and Greg Hugent

THE SOCIAL DILEMMA

Producers: Larissa Rhodes

TIME

Producers: Garrett Bradley, Kellen Quinn, and Lauren Domino

BEST ANIMATED FILM

ONWARD

Producers: Kori Rae

OVER THE MOON

Producers: Gennie Rim and Peilin Chou

SOUL

Producers: Dana Murray

THE WILLOUGHBYS

Producers: Brenda Gilbert and Luke Carroll

WOLFWALKERS

Producers: Paul Young, Nora Twomey, Tomm Moore, Stephan Roelants, and Brian Grazer

BEST DIRECTOR

Emerald Fennell, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

Spike Lee, DA 5 BLOODS

George C. Wolfe, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

Florian Zeller, THE FATHER

Chloe Zhao, NOMADLAND

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

MANK – Jack Fincher

NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS – Eliza Hittman

PALM SPRINGS – Andy Siara

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN – Emerald Fennell

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 – Aaron Sorkin

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

THE FATHER – Florian Zeller

FIRST COW – Kelly Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond

I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS – Charlie Kaufman

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM – Ruben Santiago-Hudson

NOMADLAND – Chloe Zhao

BEST ACTOR

Riz Ahmed, SOUND OF METAL

Chadwick Boseman, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

Anthony Hopkins, THE FATHER

Delroy Lindo, DA 5 BLOODS

Steven Yeun, MINARI

BEST ACTRESS

Nicole Beharie, MISS JUNETEENTH

Viola Davis, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

Sidney Flanigan, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS

Frances McDormand, NOMADLAND

Carey Mulligan, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Chadwick Boseman, DA 5 BLOODS

Bo Burnham, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

Sacha Baron Cohen, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Frank Langella, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Bill Murray, ON THE ROCKS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Maria Bakalova, BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM

Olivia Colman, THE FATHER

Talia Ryder, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS

Amanda Seyfried, MANK

Youn Yuh-jung, MINARI

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

DA 5 BLOODS

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

MINARI

ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Newton Thomas Sigel, DA 5 BLOODS

Christopher Blauvelt, EMMA.

Remi Adefarasin, JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY

Erik Messerschmidt, MANK

Joshua James Richards, NOMADLAND

Hoyte Van Hoytema, TENET

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Kave Quinn, EMMA.

Gavin Bocquet, JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY, 

Mark Ricker, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

Donald Graham Burt, MANK

Nathan Crowley, TENET

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Alexander Byrne, EMMA.

Michael Wilkinson, JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY

Ann Roth, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

Trish Summerville, MANK

Phoenix Mellow, SYLVIE’S LOVE

BEST MAKEUP

Deborah La Mia Denaver, BIRDS OF PREY: AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN

Marese Langan, EMMA.

Sharon Martin, JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY

Matiki Anoff, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

Dan Martin, POSSESSOR

BEST EDITING

Yorgos Lamprinos, THE FATHER

Chloe Zhao, NOMADLAND

Jennifer Lame, TENET

Alan Baumgarten, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Tamara Meem and Alex O’Flinn, WANDER DARKLY

BEST MUSICAL SCORE

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, MANK

Alexandre Desplat, THE MIDNIGHT SKY

Emile Mosseri, MINARI

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, SOUL

Ludwig Goransson, TENET

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Husavik” – EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA

Written by Fat Max Gsus, Rickard Goransson, and Kotecha, Performed by Will Ferrell and Molly Sanden

“Loyal Brave True” – MULAN

Written by Jame Hartman, Harry Gregson-Williams, Rosi Golan, and Billy Crabtree, Performed by Christina Aguilera

“Speak Now” – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

Written by Leslie Odom Jr. and Sam Ashworth, Performed by Leslie Odom Jr.

“This Day” – JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY

Written by Philip Lawrence, Davy Nathan, Michael Diskint, and John Legend, Performed by Justin Cornwell and Sharon Rose

“Wuhan Flu” – BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM

Written by Sacha Baron Cohen and Erran Baron Cohen, Performed by Sacha Baron Cohen

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Jonathan Dearing and Dan Oliver, THE INVISIBLE MAN

Brad Parker, Carlos Monzon, Nordin Ranhali, and Stefano Pepin, JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY

Mark Kasmir, Chris Lawrence, Graham Page, and David Watkins, THE MIDNIGHT SKY

Andrew Jackson and Scott R. Fisher, TENET

John Moffatt and Mark Holt, WONDER WOMAN 1984

---

SPECIAL AWARDS

TRAILBLAZER AWARD 

Honors the work of an artist who truly pushes the boundaries of the medium in terms of form and content

Radha Blank

Chadwick Boseman

Emerald Fennell

Steve McQueen

Chloe Zhao

IMPACT AWARD

Given to a person whose work has had a positive impact on society

Chadwick Boseman

Garrett Bradley

Scott H. Dehn

Ryan Oestreich

Chloe Zhao

---

CIC AWARD NOMINATIONS BY THE NUMBERS

FILMS:

9: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

7: Mank, The Trial of the Chicago 7

6: Da 5 Bloods, The Father, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, Nomadland

5: Promising Young Woman, Tenet

4: Emma., Minari, Never Really Sometimes Always

3: Soul

2: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, First Cow, The Midnight Sky, One Night in Miami

1: Another Round, Bacurau, Beanpole, Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn , Boys State, Dick Johnson is Dead, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, His House, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, The Invisible Man, The Life Ahead, Miss Juneteenth, Mulan, On the Rocks, Onward, Over the Moon, Palm Springs, Possessor, Rising Phoenix, The Social Dilemma, Soul, Sound of Metal, Sylvia’s Love, Time, Wander Darkly, The Willoughbys, Wolfwalkers, Wonder Woman 1984

PARASITE AND KNIVES OUT LEAD ALL WINNERS AND FEMALE FILMMAKERS ARE CELEBRATED AT THE 4TH ANNUAL FILM AWARDS FROM THE CHICAGO INDIE CRITICS

The 20 prolific members of Chicago Indie Critics cast their final ballots this week to declare the winners of 23 categories for their fourth annual film awards.  At a special ceremony open to the public last evening at the Cards Against Humanity Theater in Chicago hosted by stand-up comedienne and former film critic Katie Baker, the CIC film critics, fans, and guests gathered to celebrate milestones, commiserate among peers and professionals, and honor the very best from 2019.  The event was streamed live over the CIC YouTube channel.

Two fine films emerged with the most wins and top victories.  Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite from Neon and Rian Johnson’s Knives Out from Lionsgate each won four CIC Awards.  Little Women and 1917 followed closely, each winning three awards respectively.

Knives Out was awarded Best Studio Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Ensemble, and Best Editing.  Parasite equaled that tally winning Best Independent Film, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Supporting Actor for Song Kang-ho, and a tie of Best Director honors for Bong Joon-ho shared with Greta Gerwig for Little Women.  Speaking of Mr. Joon-ho and Ms. Gerwig, the two filmmakers were the most honored individuals of the 2019 CIC Awards ceremony.  Both were credited on three awards apiece. In all, 12 different films won CIC Awards for 2019.

In two special CIC Award categories of distinction, two top female filmmakers and what they stand for were celebrated.  The Trailblazer Award honoring the work of an artist who pushed the boundaries of the medium was awarded to Greta Gerwig.  Additionally, Lulu Wang, the writer/director of The Farewell, was voted the recipient of the Impact Award.  That honor celebrates a person whose work has had a positive impact on society.  It was a special night to laud and appreciate the work of female creators such as these two honorees.

The complete list of the winners of the 2019 CIC Awards:

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM 

(budgets under $20 million)

Parasite

Bong Joon-ho, Kwak Sin-ae, Moon Yang-kwon, and Jang Young-hwan (producers)

BEST STUDIO FILM 

(budgets over $20 million)

Knives Out

Ram Bergman and Rian Johnson (producers)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Parasite

Bong Joon-ho, Kwak Sin-ae, Moon Yang-kwon, and Jang Young-hwan (producers)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Apollo 11

Evan Krauss, Todd Douglas Miller, Thomas Petersen (producers)

BEST ANIMATED FILM

I Lost My Body

Marc du Pontavice (producer)

BEST DIRECTOR

(TIE) Greta Gerwig, Little Women

(TIE) Bong Joon-ho, Parasite

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Knives Out– Rian Johnson

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Little Women– Greta Gerwig

BEST ACTOR

Adam Driver, Marriage Story

BEST ACTRESS

Lupita Nyong’o, Us

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Kang-ho Song, Parasite

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

Knives Out- Mary Vernieu (casting director)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1917– Roger Deakins

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Knives Out– David Crank

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Dolemite is My Name– Ruth E. Carter

BEST MAKEUP

Bombshell– Vivian Baker, Kazu Hiro, and Anne Morgan

BEST EDITING

1917– Lee Smith

BEST MUSICAL SCORE

Us– Michael Abels

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“I Punched Keanu Reeves” from Always Be My Maybe 

(written and performed by Randall Park)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1917– Greg Butler, Guillaume Rocheron, and Dominic Tuohy

SPECIAL AWARDS

TRAILBLAZER AWARD 

Honors the work of an artist who pushes the boundaries of the medium in terms of form and content

Greta Gerwig

IMPACT AWARD

Given to a person whose work has had a positive impact on society

Lulu Wang

---

CIC AWARD WINNERS BY THE NUMBERS

FILMS

4: Parasite, Knives Out

3: 1917, Little Women

2: Us

1: Always Be My Maybe, Apollo 11, Bombshell, Dolemite is My Name, The Farewell, I Lost My Body, Marriage Story

PEOPLE:

3: Greta Gerwig, Bong Joon-ho

2: Rian Johnson

 

---

December 29, 2019:

GRETA GERWIG’S LITTLE WOMEN LEADS ALL FILMS AS THE CHICAGO INDIE CRITICS ANNOUNCE NOMINEES FOR THEIR FOURTH ANNUAL AWARDS

The recently rebranded Chicago Indie Critics have announced their nominees for the fourth annual film awards. The voting members completed ballots to compile five nominees for 23 categories. The CIC members will commence a final round of voting ending on January 2, 2020.

The 2019 CIC Award winners will be announced on the evening of January 4, 2020. This year’s Awards Party will be emcee by stand-up comedienne and former film critic Katie Baker. The event will be held at the Cards Against Humanity Theater in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago starting at 5:00pm and open to the public with ticket admission.  Fans and followers can watch the awards event live-streaming on the CIC’s YouTube channel.

Leading all films with an impressive eight nominations is Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women.  Two of those nominations highlight Gerwig’s work as a director and screenwriter. Following next with seven nominations each is the quartet of The Irishman, Marriage Story, 1917, and Parasite. On an individual level leading the field, Parasite’s Bong Joon-ho earned five personal nominations and Lulu Wang of The Farewell earned four across the 23 categories. In all, 43 films are represented with nominations for the 2019 CIC Awards.

Two awards of special recognition and interest are the annual Trailblazer and Impact Awards.  The CIC’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 Greta Gerwig (Little Women), Rian Johnson (Knives Out), Sam Mendes (1917), Martin Scorsese (The Irishman), Lena Waithe (Queen & Slim), and Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit). Secondly, the Impact Award celebrates a person whose work during the past year or beyond made a positive impact on society. The nominees include Pedro Almodovar (Pain and Glory), Bong Joon-Ho (Parasite), Martin Scorsese (The Irishman), Lulu Wang (The Farewell), and late Chicago film critic Milos Stehlik.

Founded in 2016, the Chicago Indie Critics (formerly known as the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle) 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, and target audiences across both print and online platforms and publications. The CIC 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 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 the world as an exemplary and upstanding pillar of intelligent print and broadcast journalism.

The complete list of nominees for the 2019 CIC Awards:

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM (budgets under $20 million)

Booksmart

Chelsea Barnard, David Distenfield, Jessica Elbaum, Megan Ellison, and Katie Silberman (producers)

The Farewell

Anita Gou, Daniele Melia, Andrew Miano, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub, Chris Weitz, Jane Zheng, and Lulu Wang (producers)

Jojo Rabbit

Carthew Neal, Taika Waititi, and Chelsea Winstanley (producers)

Marriage Story

Noah Baumbach and David Heyman (producers)

Parasite

Bong Joon-ho, Kwak Sin-ae, Moon Yang-kwon, and Jang Young-hwan (producers)

BEST STUDIO FILM (budgets over $20 million)

The Irishman

Gerald Chamales, Robert De Niro, Randall Emmett, Israilovici Gabriele, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Jane Rosenthal, Gastón Pavlovich, Martin Scorsese, and Irwin Winkler (producers)

Knives Out

Ram Bergman and Rian Johnson (producers)

Little Women

Denise Di Novi, Amy Pascal, and Robin Swicord (producers)

Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh, and Quentin Tarantino (producers)

1917

Pippa Harris, Callum McDougall, Sam Mendes, Brian Oliver, and Jayne-Ann Tenggren (producers)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Birds of Passage

Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra (producers)

Monos

Fernando Epstein, Alejandro Landes, Cristina Landes, and Santiago Zapata (producers)

Pain and Glory

Agustin Almodovar (producer)

Parasite

Bong Joon-ho, Kwak Sin-ae, Moon Yang-kwon, and Jang Young-hwan (producers)

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Véronique Cayla and Bénédicte Couvreur (producers)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Apollo 11

Evan Krauss, Todd Douglas Miller, Thomas Petersen (producers)

Hail, Satan?

Gabriel Sedgwick (producer)

Honeyland

Atanis Georgiev (producer)

The Kingmaker

Frank Evers and Laura Greenfield (producers)

One Child Nation

Christopher Clements, Julie Goldman, Carolyn Hepburn, Christoph Jorg, Nanfu Wang, and Jialing Zhang (producers

BEST ANIMATED FILM

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Bonnie Arnold and Brad Lewis (producers)

I Lost My Body

Marc du Pontavice (producer)

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part

Jinko Gotoh, Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Phil Lord, and Christopher Miller (producers)

Missing Link

Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner (producers)

Toy Story 4

Mark Nielsen and Jonas Rivera (producers)

BEST DIRECTOR

Greta Gerwig, Little Women

Bong Joon-ho, Parasite

Sam Mendes, 1917

Céline Sciamma, Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Lulu Wang, The Farewell

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

The Farewell- Lulu Wang

Knives Out– Rian Johnson

Marriage Story– Noah Baumbach

Parasite– Bong Joon-Ho and Jin Won-Han

Portrait of a Lady on Fire– Céline Sciamma

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Irishman– Steve Zaillian

Jojo Rabbit– Taika Waititi

Little Women– Greta Gerwig

Luce– J.C. Lee and Julius Onah

The Two Popes– Anthony McCarten

BEST ACTOR

Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory

Adam Driver, Marriage Story

Eddie Murphy, Dolemite is My Name

Joaquin Phoenix, Joker

Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems

BEST ACTRESS

Awkwafina, The Farewell

Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story

Elisabeth Moss, Her Smell

Lupita Nyong’o, Us

Florence Pugh, Midsommar

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Al Pacino, The Irishman

Joe Pesci, The Irishman

Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

Kang-ho Song, Parasite

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Laura Dern, Marriage Story

Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers

Florence Pugh, Little Women

Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell

Octavia Spencer, Luce

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

Avengers: Endgame- Sarah Finn (casting director)

The Irishman- Ellen Lewis (casting director)

Knives Out- Mary Vernieu (casting director)

Little Women- Kathy Driscoll and Francine Maisler (casting directors)

Marriage Story- Francine Maisler and Douglas Aibel (casting directors)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Ad Astra- Hoyte Van Hoytema

Ford v Ferrari– Phedon Papamichael

The Lighthouse– Jarin Blaschke

1917– Roger Deakins

Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood– Robert Richardson

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Ad Astra– Kevin Thompson

Knives Out– David Crank

1917– Dennis Gassner

Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood– Barbara Ling

Parasite- Ha-Jun Lee

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Dolemite is My Name– Ruth E. Carter

Knives Out– Jenny Eagan

Little Women– Jacqueline Durran

Midsommar– Andrea Flesch

Once Upon a Time.. in Hollywood– Arianne Phillips

BEST MAKEUP

Bombshell– Vivian Baker, Kazu Hiro, and Anne Morgan

Dolemite is My Name– Debra Denson, Carla Joi Farmer, Stacey L. Morris, Vera Steimberg

The Irishman– Sean Flanigan, Nicki Ledermann, and Carla White

Judy- Jeremy Woodhead

Us– Camille Friend and Scott Wheeler

BEST EDITING

Ford v Ferrari– Andrew Buckland, Michael McCusker, and Dirk Westervelt

Knives Out– Bob Ducsay

Little Women– Nick Houy

1917– Lee Smith

Parasite– Jinmo Yang

BEST MUSICAL SCORE

Avengers: Endgame– Alan Silvestri

Little Women– Alexandre Desplat

Marriage Story– Randy Newman

1917– Thomas Newman

Us– Michael Abels

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Catchy Song” from The LEGO Movie Part 2: The Second Part

(performed by Dillion Francis featuring T-Pain and That Girl Lay Lay and written by Jon Lajoie)

“Glasgow (No Place Like Home)” from Wild Rose

(performed by Jessie Buckley and written by Mary Steenburgen, Caitlin Smith, and Kate York)

“I Punched Keanu Reeves” from Always Be My Maybe 

(performed and written by Randall Park)

“Not Evil” from The LEGO Movie Part 2: The Second Part 

(performed by Tiffany Haddish and written by Jon Lajoie)

“Speechless” from Aladdin 

(performed by Naomi Scott and written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul)

“Stand Up” from Harriet

(performed by Cynthia Erivo and written by Joshua Brian Campbell and Cynthia Erivo)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Ad Astra– Scott R. Fisher, Allan Maris, Guillaume Rocheron, and Jedediah Smith

Avengers: Endgame– Matt Aitken, Russell Earl, Dan Leeluw, and Dan Sudick

The Irishman– Leandro Estebecorena, Stephane Grabli, Pablo Helman, and Nelson Sepulveda

1917– Greg Butler, Guillaume Rocheron, and Dominic Tuohy

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker– Roger Guyett, Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach, and Dominic Tuohy

SPECIAL AWARDS

TRAILBLAZER AWARD 

Honors the work of an artist who truly pushes the boundaries of the medium in terms of form and content

Greta Gerwig

Rian Johnson

Sam Mendes

Martin Scorsese

Lena Waithe

Taika Waititi

IMPACT AWARD

Given to a person whose work has had a positive impact on society

Pedro Almodovar

Bong Joon-Ho

Martin Scorsese

Milos Stehlik

Lulu Wang

CIC AWARD NOMINATIONS BY THE NUMBERS

FILMS

8: Little Women

7: The Irishman, Marriage Story, 1917, Parasite

6: Knives Out

5: The Farewell, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

3: Ad Astra, Avengers: Endgame, Dolemite is My Name, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Us

2: Pain and Glory, Jojo Rabbit, Luce, Ford v Ferrari, Midsommar

1: Aladdin, Always Be My Maybe, Apollo 11, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Bombshell, Booksmart, Hail, Satan?, Harriet, Her Smell, Honeyland, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Hustlers, Joker, Judy, I Lost My Body, The Kingmaker, Missing Link, Monos, One Child Nation, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, The Two Popes, Toy Story 4, Wild Rose

PEOPLE:

5: Bong Joon-Ho

4: Lulu Wang

3: Greta Gerwig, Rian Johnson, Sam Mendes, Martin Scorsese, Taika Waititi

2: Noah Baumbach, David Heyman, Jon Lajoie, Francine Maisler, Florence Pugh, Céline Sciamma, Dominic Tuohy

---

2019 CIC Awards- Timeline and Categories

Nominations ballots go out: December 20, 2019

Round one voting due: December 27, 2019

Nominations announced: December 29, 2019

Round two voting due: January 2, 2020

Winners announced and Awards Ceremony: January 4, 2020 (Location and time TBA)

CATEGORIES

1. Best Independent Film (under $20M)
2. Best Studio Film (over $20M)
3. Best Foreign-Language Film
4. Best Documentary
5. Best Animated Film
6. Best Director
7. Best Original Screenplay
8. Best Adapted Screenplay
9. Best Actor
10. Best Actress
11. Best Supporting Actor
12. Best Supporting Actress
13. Best Ensemble
14. Best Production Design
15. Best Cinematography
16. Best Editing
17. Best Musical Score
18. Best Original Song
19. Best Visual Effects
20. Best Makeup
21. Best Costume Design
22. Impact Award (positive impact in cinema)
23. Trailblazer Award (audacious artist/film)

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

CATEGORIES

1. Best Independent Film (under $20M)
2. Best Studio Film (over $20M)
3. Best Foreign-Language Film
4. Best Documentary
5. Best Animated Film
6. Best Director
7. Best Original Screenplay
8. Best Adapted Screenplay
9. Best Actor
10. Best Actress
11. Best Supporting Actor
12. Best Supporting Actress
13. Best Production Design
14. Best Cinematography
15. Best Editing
16. Best Musical Score
17. Best Visual Effects
18. Best Makeup and Costume Design
19. Best Ensemble
20. Impact Award (positive impact in cinema)
21. Trailblazer Award (audacious artist/film)

2017 CIFCC AWARDS

---

THE CHICAGO INDEPENDENT FILM CRITICS CIRCLE ANNOUNCES ITS WINNERS FOR THE SECOND ANNUAL CIFCC AWARDS

The 26 film critics and voting members of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle completed their final ballots in 21 categories for their second annual CIFCC Awards. Leading all films with four awards is Get Out from Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions, including three awards for Jordan Peele and his many hats.  A24 and Focus Feature’s Lady Bird from director Greta Gerwig follows with three wins, including Best Independent Film.  Fifteen different films were award winners.

In two special award categories, the Trailblazer Award honoring the work of an artist who truly pushed the boundaries of the medium in terms of form and content was won by Jordan Peele for his work on Get Out.  The Impact Award celebrating a person whose work has had a positive impact on society was given to Patty Jenkins and her efforts leading Wonder Woman.

---

The complete list of nominees for the 2017 CIFCC Awards:

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM

Lady Bird- Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, and Evelyn O’Neil (producers)

BEST STUDIO FILM

Logan– Hutch Parker, Simon Kinberg, and Lauren Schuler Donner (producers)

BEST FOREIGN FILM

Raw– Jean de Forêts (producer)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Faces Places– JR and Agnes Varda (co-directors)

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Coco– Darla K. Anderson (producer)

BEST DIRECTOR

Jordan Peele, Get Out

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Get Out- Jordan Peele

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Disaster Artist- Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber

BEST ACTOR

(TIE)

Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out

Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

BEST ACTRESS

Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

(TIE)

Allison Janney, I, Tonya

Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri- Abbie Cornish, Peter Dinklage, Woody Harrelson, John Hawkes, Lucas Hedges, Željko Ivanek, Caleb Landry Jones, Frances McDormand,, Sam Rockwell, and Samara Weaving

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Blade Runner 2049- Roger Deakins

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Blade Runner 2049- Dennis Gassner

BEST COSTUME DESIGN AND MAKEUP

Phantom Thread– Mark Bridges (costumes), Paul Engelen (makeup)

BEST EDITING

Baby Driver– Jonathan Amos and Paul Machliss

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Phantom Thread- Jonny Greenwood

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

War for the Planet of the Apes- Joe Leterri, Dan Lemmon, Eric Winquist, and Dan Cervin

---

TRAILBLAZER AWARD

Jordan Peele- Get Out

IMPACT AWARD

Patty Jenkins- Wonder Woman

___________________________________________________________________

THE CHICAGO INDEPENDENT FILM CRITICS CIRCLE HAS NAMED ITS NOMINEES FOR THE SECOND ANNUAL CIFCC AWARDS

Capping off their second year as a recognized awards-voting body, the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle has announced their nominees for the second annual CIFCC Awards.  The 26 voting members completed ballots with the goal of three final nominees in 21 categories.  They will commence a final round of voting ending on December 29, 2017 with winners announced on December 30, 2017.

Leading all films with seven nominations is the acclaimed thriller Get Out from director Jordan Peele.  Following closely with six nominations each are the coming-of-age dramedy Lady Bird and Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water.  There are 31 different films included in 21 total categories for this year’s CIFCC Awards.

Two awards of special interest are the Trailblazer and Impact Awards.  The 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 Sean Baker (The Florida Project), Jordan Peele (Get Out), and Dee Rees (Mudbound).  The Impact Award celebrates a person whose work has had a positive impact on society and the nominees include Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), and Jordan Peele (Get Out).

From this first round of voting, the film critics group has compiled a pair of “10 Best” lists for 2017, one for independent film defined as a budget under $20 million and one for studio films defined as movies with budgets over $20 million:

THE 10 BEST INDEPENDENT FILMS (in alphabetical order):

The Big Sick, Call Me By Your Name, The Florida Project, Get Out, A Ghost Story, Lady Bird, Lucky, Mudbound, The Shape of Water, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

THE 10 BEST STUDIO FILMS (in alphabetical order):

Baby Driver, Blade Runner 2049, Dunkirk, Logan, The Lost City of Z, mother!, Phantom Thread, The Post, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Wonder Woman

---

The complete list of nominees for the 2017 CIFCC Awards:

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM

The Florida Project

Get Out

Lady Bird

BEST STUDIO FILM

Blade Runner 2049

Dunkirk

Logan

BEST FOREIGN FILM

Raw

The Square

Thelma

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Faces Places

Jane

Whose Streets?

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Coco

The LEGO Batman Movie

Loving Vincent

BEST DIRECTOR

Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird

Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk

Jordan Peele, Get Out

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

The Big Sick- Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani

Get Out- Jordan Peele

Lady Bird- Greta Gerwig

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Call Me By Your Name- James Ivory

The Disaster Artist- Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber

Mudbound– Dee Rees and Virgil Williams

BEST ACTOR

Timothée Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name

Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out

Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

BEST ACTRESS

Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water

Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project

Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water

Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri

Michael Stuhlbarg, Call Me By Your Name

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Tiffany Haddish, Girls Trip

Allison Janney, I, Tonya

Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

Get Out

Mudbound

The Post

The Shape of Water

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Blade Runner 2049- Roger Deakins

Dunkirk- Hoyte van Hoytema

The Shape of Water– Dan Laustsen

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Blade Runner 2049- Dennis Gassner

mother!- Philip Messina

The Shape of Water- Paul D. Austerberry

BEST EDITING

Baby Driver– Jonathan Amos and Paul Machliss

Dunkirk– Lee Smith

War for the Planet of the Apes– William Hoy and Stan Salfas

BEST COSTUME DESIGN AND MAKEUP

Darkest Hour– Jacqueline Durran (costumes), Kazuhiro Tsuji, Lucy Sibbick and David Malinowski (makeup)

Phantom Thread– Mark Bridges (costumes), Paul Engelen (makeup)

The Shape of Water– Luis Sequeria (costumes), Jordan Samuel and Paula Fleet (makeup)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Phantom Thread– Jonny Greenwood

The Shape of Water– Alexandre Desplat

War for the Planet of the Apes- Michael Giacchino

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Blade Runner 2049- Richard Clegg, Paul Lambert, Viktor Muller, and John Nelson

Star Wars: The Last Jedi– Richard Bain, Ben Morris, Michael Mulholland, and Chris Corbould

War for the Planet of the Apes- Joe Leterri, Dan Lemmon, Eric Winquist, and Dan Cervin

---

TRAILBLAZER AWARD

Sean Baker, The Florida Project

Jordan Peele, Get Out

Dee Rees, Mudbound

IMPACT AWARD

Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird

Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman

Jordan Peele, Get Out

THE CHICAGO INDEPENDENT FILM CRITICS CIRCLE ANNOUNCES ITS WINNERS FOR THE FIRST ANNUAL CIFCC AWARDS

The 28 film critics and voting members of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle completed their final ballots in 25 categories for their first annual CIFCC Awards.  The CIFCC will host an invitation-only awards reception at Transistor Chicago on January 8, 2017.

Leading all films with six awards is La La Land from Summit Entertainment, including Best Studio Film and Best Director for Damien Chazelle.  A24’s Moonlight from director Barry Jenkins follows with four wins.  Sixteen different films were award winners.

The voting for two special awards, the Trailblazer and Impact Awards, ended in ties.  The Trailblazer Award honoring the work of an artist who truly pushed the boundaries of the medium in terms of form and content will be shared by directors Yorgos Lanthimos of The Lobster and Anna Biller of The Love Witch.  The Impact Award celebrating a person whose work has had a positive impact on society will be shared by documentary director Ava DuVernay for 13th and Pioneers of African-American Cinema curators Jacqueline Stewart and Charles Musser.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ANNOUNCEMENT AND LIST OF NOMINEES

The complete list of the winners of the 2016 CIFCC Awards:

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM

Moonlight (Producers: Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner)

BEST STUDIO FILM

La La Land (Producers: Fred Berger, Gary Gilbert, Jordan Horowitz, and Marc Platt)

BEST FOREIGN FILM

The Handmaiden (Producers: Park Chan-wook and Syd Lum)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

O.J.: Made in America (Producers: Ezra Edelman, Caroline Waterlow, Tamara Rosenberg, Nina Krstic, Deirdre Fenton, Libby Geist, Erin Leyden, and Connor Schell)

BEST MICROBUDGET FILM

The Fits (Producers: Anna Rose Holmer and Lisa Kjerulff)

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Kubo and the Two Strings (Producers: Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner)

BEST CHICAGO FILM

Southside with You (Producers: Tika Sumpter, Richard Tanne, Robert Teitel)

BEST DIRECTOR

Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Barry Jenkins and Tarell McCraney (Moonlight)

BEST ACTOR

Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

BEST ACTRESS

Natalie Portman (Jackie)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Viola Davis (Fences)

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

Moonlight (Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, Trevante Rhodes, Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Janelle Monae, Andre Holland, Jharrel Jerome, Jaden Piner, Patrick Decile

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Linus Sandgren (La La Land)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

David Wasco (La La Land)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

TIE: Madeline Fontaine (Jackie)

TIE: Anna Biller (The Love Witch)

BEST EDITING

Tom Cross (La La Land)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Justin Hurwitz (La La Land)

BEST MAKEUP

Jason Hamer (Swiss Army Man)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Stephane Ceretti, Paul Corbould, Richard Bluff, and Vince Cirelli (Doctor Strange)

BEST SHORT FILM

Piper (Producer: Marc Sondheimer)

BEST UNDISTRIBUTED FILM

Atmo Horrox (Producer: Pat Tremblay)

TRAILBLAZER AWARD

TIE: Anna Biller (The Love Witch)

TIE: Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster)

IMPACT AWARD

TIE: Ava DuVernay (13th)

TIE: Jacqueline Stewart and Charles Musser (Pioneers of African-American Cinema)

EVENT INFORMATION:

An invitation-only event is scheduled for January 8 at 7 pm at Transistor Chicago (5224 N. Clark St.) to announce the winners at 8 pm.  Winners present will have a chance to speak and others will be available via Skype or pre-written speeches.

ABOUT THE CIFCC:

Unlike other film critics organization across the country, the CIFCC embraces and highlights diversity within the film industry. Its members represent the LGBQT community, females, and various ethnicities as well as critiquing films using unique platforms such as video essays and podcasts along with the traditional print form.