Gold Hugo: Best Film

Vermiglio

Dir. Maura Delpero | Italy, France, Belgium

An exquisitely realized story of a young woman in the Italian Alps and the complexities of the family that surrounds her, Vermiglio treats its characters with compassion and its images with striking precision. Through the vehicle of imagination, the filmmaker has composed a tale that feels as if it has been whispered throughout generations.

Silver Hugo: Jury Prize

All We Imagine As Light

Dir. Payal Kapadia | France, India, Netherlands, Luxembourg

A tender, multigenerational story that questions the boundaries of control and what can be shaped as one’s destiny, All We Imagine As Light anchors its audience within a powerful dilemma: to choose an unfulfilling, yet comfortable life, or a loving, yet disruptive one?

Silver Hugo: Best Director

Miguel Gomes

Grand Tour

Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, China

With his skillful direction, Miguel Gomes’s Grand Tour not only takes us on the journey of a woman’s quest to find her estranged fiance, but the depths of what can be explored, and transcended, within the landscape of cinematic language.

Silver Hugo: Best Male Performance

Benjamin Voisin

The Quiet Son Jouer avec le feu

Dir. Delphine Coulin & Muriel Coulin | France

In The Quiet Son, Benjamin Voisin presents a subtle, yet vicious portrait of a young man who grows increasingly unrecognizable to those who love him. A gentle introduction to the condition of a country.

Silver Hugo: Best Female Performance

Elín Hall

When the Light Breaks Ljósbrot

Dir. Rúnar Rúnarsson | Iceland, Netherlands, Croatia, France

Elín Hall is a commanding performer who grips the audience with her quiet depiction of an overwhelming loss in When the Light Breaks.

Silver Hugo: Best Screenplay

Mohammad Rasoulof

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof | Germany, Iran, France

With its powerful blend of fiction and documentary, we are given a single seed that has rooted itself within a bold and significant story in Mohammad Rasoulof’s script for The Seed of the Sacred Fig.

Silver Hugo: Best Editing

Telmo Churro & Pedro Filipe Marques

Grand Tour

Dir. Miguel Gomes | Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, China

Through an inventive and meticulous combination of image and sound, Grand Tour’s editing propels the story forward and immerses its audience within an irreplaceable and hypnotic atmosphere.

Special Mention

The Female Ensemble of

On Becoming a Guinea Fowl

Dir. Rungano Nyoni | Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, China

The award for Best Ensemble Performance goes to the women of On Becoming a Guinea Fowl. A collective that illuminates, challenges, and shapes a community’s expectation of what it means to properly grieve.

Gold Hugo

The Village Next to Paradise

Dir. Mo Harawe | Austria, France, Germany, Somalia

Unhurried and fully lived in, The Village Next to Paradise invites audiences to be part of a family that is bonded by love. With a stunning visual language defined by subtle glances, tender relationships and touching honesty, the film introduces us to the profound openness of young actor Ahmed Mohamoud Salleban, and the poetic vision of director Mo Harawe. The Village Next to Paradise is a humble political statement told with care and empathy.

Silver Hugo

My Favourite Cake Keyke Mahboobe Man

Dir. Maryam Moghaddam & Behtash Sanaeeha | Iran, France, Sweden, Germany

With humor, compassion, and a rebellious spirit, directors Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha deftly weave the personal and the political. In a warm world, despite harsh realities and with masterful performances by Lili Farhadpour and Esmaeel Mehrabi, My Favourite Cake artfully proves joy, flirtation and love are possible at any age, and on any day. A powerful portrait of loneliness and companionship, My Favourite Cake was indeed the jury’s favorite cake.

Roger Ebert Award

Hanami

Dir. Denise Fernandes | Switzerland, Portugal, Cape Verde

An expansive vision of community, magic, childlike wonder and diasporic angst, Denise Fernandes’s Hanami takes us through the pain of abandonment in a world unlike any cinematic coming-of-age story that’s come before it. There is an assuredness and grace to the unadorned performances and bewitching sense of texture in a film whose existence stands unabashedly in the shoes of a woman whose uncommon essence casts a quiet, potent spell for those willing to slip into its wonder.

Gold Hugo

Mistress Dispeller

Dir. Elizabeth Lo | China, United States

We were impressed by the film’s intimate point of view, which imposes no moral judgment on any of the incredible characters. Entertaining and poetic, this film provides a fascinating look at the specifics of Chinese culture, but also the more universal and complex experiences of love and relationships. Mistress Dispeller is a documentary we have never seen before, an unforgettable and deeply empathetic work of cinema.

Silver Hugo

My Stolen Planet

Dir. Farahnaz Sharifi | Germany, Iran

We were deeply moved by this courageous film, and how it reveals that the act of filming both the personal and political spheres can be a powerful form of resistance. Deftly moving from Iran’s 1929 Islamic Revolution to the present, Sharifi validates the joys of friendship, family and the simple act of dancing. The film is a timely reminder of the ongoing struggles against oppression in so many parts of the world today.

Gold Q-Hugo

Thesis on a Domestication Tesis sobre una domesticación

Dir. Javier Van de Couter | Argentina, Mexico

An uncompromising tour de force from longtime collaborators Van de Couter and Camila Sosa Villada based on her book of the same name, the film plays with permutations of womanhood through the lens of its trans actress protagonist (played expertly by Sosa Villada herself). New and old fragments superpose as she takes on changes in her domestic life, her career, and her approach to sex. This epic portrait of various relationship dynamics proposes coexistence without consensus as well as forms of love that embrace mystery and wildness. Sosa Villada is a bona-fide star in front of and behind the screen, with an unflinching pen and a commanding performance, who, alongside co-star Alfonso Herrera, gives this film its rapturous, untamable heartbeat.

Silver Q-Hugo

Four Mothers

Dir. Darren Thornton | Ireland

From brother duo Darren and Colin Thornton, the film encapsulates the neuroticism of being a writer navigating fleeting moments of success in an unforgiving industry. This comedy treats its main narrative subject, elder care, with tremendous dignity while also acknowledging the absurdity of growing old and being in your own ways. This whip-smart pivot from the “found family” trope centers commanding performances from four elder actresses, one of whom speaks only through an iPad, who are all unapologetically catty and earnest in equal measures. Four Mothers embodies an astute gay ethos, reacting to the post-“It Gets Better” era and discovering where to draw the line between selfishness and prioritizing your own desires.

Chicago Award

A Photographic Memory

Dir. Rachel Elizabeth Seed | United States

A film with strong Chicago ties, A Photographic Memory depicts a daughter searching to understand the mother she never knew, and in turn reaching a deeper understanding of herself. Filled with archival video and photography, intimate interviews, and first-hand footage of her travels, Rachel Elizabeth Seed’s film seamlessly interweaves visual styles and themes with remarkable beauty. Her mother, Sheila Turner Seed, was raised in Chicago and died in Evanston, but traveled the world as a photographer and journalist, interviewing iconic photographers. Throughout the film we dive into both women’s hearts and minds, through Sheila’s diary entries and photography, and through Rachel’s narration and striking visual perspective. A Photographic Memory is a story of mothers and daughters, of one’s complicated relationship to their career and to themselves, and of the lasting, connective power of the arts.

Honorable Mention

Saving Superman

Dir. Adam Oppenheim, Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian | United States

The heartfelt, delicately told Saving Superman depicts 57-year-old Jonathan, a man with Autism living in Glen Ellyn, who is something of a local hero. The film’s beautiful cinematography, score, and filmmaking elevates this poignant and inspiring story. We were all very moved by the film’s subject, by his loving mother and friends, and by the way the Glen Ellyn community fought to support their local Superman.

Gold Hugo

Butterfly Kiss

Dir. Zohar Dvir | Germany, Israel

Juxtapositions abound in Butterfly Kiss, a stylish and graphically appealing animated film. In addition to the complexity and nuance of the story, the film demonstrates excellent design technique and a unique and engaging sound design. This contemporary relationship drama is a rumination on change and how taxing it can be both on the human body and psyche. Using elements of horror and camp, this film pulls viewers in and asks them to reflect on changes they have made for other people. A sign of the times, its lighthearted delivery turns dark at the blink of an eye, begging the question about what other horrors lie beneath the surface. While it is gut-wrenching at moments, it ultimately shows the characters growing stronger and provides a fresh and moving perspective on romantic relationships, a subject matter that is often cliched. The audience is left wondering how our protagonist is impacted by this relationship, if they are happily growing or changing for the worse after the credits roll.

Silver Hugo

Wander to Wonder

Dir. Nina Gantz | The Netherlands, Belgium, France, United Kingdom

This animated film is an original take on the idea of deconstructing children’s television. It exhibits exceptional technical stop-motion craft, impressive world-building, and skillful sound design. Along with its breathtaking visuals, Wander to Wonder provides an engaging and thought-provoking story. The film’s adept mix of thriller genre elements, dark, clever, and meta sense of humor, creates a rich thematic tension. It asks questions surrounding what becomes of a creation after its maker moves on, what is the life and legacy of an artwork, and how collaboration changes and challenges (even magical, miniature) people.

Gold Hugo

Black Shadow Negra sombra

Dir. María Salafranca | Cuba

Immersive and emotionally precise with stunning cinematography, Black Shadow quietly draws the viewer into the grief of the subject. Masterfully edited, every shot is not only visually beautiful but establishes a powerfully intimate portrait of her isolated daily life. The film also provides an uncommon depiction of an elder person; one where even in sadness the protagonist exhibits strength and perseverance.

Silver Hugo

Perfectly a Strangeness

Dir. Alison McAlpine | Canada, Chile

The dynamic short doc Perfectly a Strangeness artfully explores the possibilities of stories beyond human protagonists and the ability of cinema to usher in discovery. Almost cosmic in scope, with a finely crafted sound design that harnesses small shifts in sound to keep our attention sharply in focus, the film follows three donkeys as they wander an arid landscape. Their curious journey is captured with exceptional cinematography and as they come across an abandoned observatory, the viewer is left with an otherworldly feeling of hopefulness. This unconventional mix of formal elements posits a world after humans and provides space to think about humanity’s effect on nature.

Gold Hugo

Vox Humana

Dir. Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan | Philippines, United States, Singapore

The timely short film elegantly brings together a nexus of ideas surrounding human impact on the natural environment. Incorporating magical realism into a low-fi sci-fi story, Vox Humana dissects notions of human dominion over animals, explores areas where the natural world overlaps with organized human development, and considers contemporary society’s relationships with indigenous legacies. With excellent sound design, skillful cinematography, and an incisive story structure this movie intentionally uses a little to provide a lot to consider.

Silver Hugo

Passarinho

Dir. Natalia García Agraz | Mexico

Passarinho impressively weaves together several storylines into an original coming of age story that focuses on the sometimes difficult relationship between parent and child. Set against the backdrop of sports, an environment not often used to tell the stories of mothers and daughters, its ambitious scope of production and expertly crafted script provides a relatable and moving story. The movie makes good use of settings both confined and expansive to provide depth and humor and the characters are so well-drawn that the audience is left wanting to see what happens next in their lives together.

U.S. Feature Film

Color Book

Dir. David Fortune | United States

International Feature Film

Long Good Thursday Mielensäpahoittajan rakkaustarina

Dir. Mika Kaurismäki | Finland

Documentary Film

The Light of Truth: Richard Hunt’s Monument to Ida B. Wells

Dir. Rana Segal | United States

Added Screening
Catch The Light of Truth as part of our free Community Cinema program on Nov 15. Learn more…

Short Film

Hoofs on Skates

Dir. Ignas Meilūnas | Lithuania