CHICAGO – The Chicago International Film Festival is competitive, and the 54th edition presented its awards on October 19th, 2018, at the AMC River East Theatre in Chicago. The winner of the Gold Hugo as Best Film was “Happy as Lazzaro” (Italy/Switzerland/Germany/France), directed by Alice Rohrwacher.
The awards event was hosted by entertainment reporter Bill Zwecker. Presenters included Artistic Director Mimi Plauché, programmers Anthony Kaufman and Sam Flancher, plus various jury members. Festival CEO Michael Kutza presented his “Founder’s Award.” The Festival’s highest honor is the Gold Hugo, named for the mythical God of Discovery.
International Feature Film Competition
The Gold Hugo for Best Film: “Happy as Lazzaro,” (Italy/Switzerland/Germany/France) Directed by Alice Rohrwacher
The Silver Hugo – Special Jury Prize: “Joy” (Austria), directed by Sudabeh Mortezai
The Silver Hugo – Best Director: Jia Zhangke of “Ash Is Purest White”
(China/France)
The Silver Hugo – Best Actor: Jesper Christensen of “Before the Frost” (Denmark)
The Silver Hugo – Best Actress: Zhao Tao of “Ash Is Purest White”
(China/France)
The Silver Plaque – Best Cinematography: David Gallego of “Birds of Passage”
(Colombia/Mexico/Denmark/France)
The Silver Plaque – Best Screenplay: Stéphane Brizé and Olivier Gorce of “At War” (France)
The Silver Plaque – Best Art Direction: Angélica Parea of “Birds of Passage” (Colombia/Mexico/Denmark/France)
New Directors Competition
The Gold Hugo: Director Ash Mayfair of “The Third Wife” (Vietnam)
The Silver Hugo: Director Joël Karekezi of “The Mercy of the Jungle” (Belgium/France/Rwanda)
The Roger Ebert Award for New Directors: Directors Andréa Bescond and Eric Métayer of “Little Tickles” (France)
Documentary Competition
The Gold Hugo: “ [Censored]” (Australia), directed by Sari Braithwaite
The Silver Hugo: “Ex-Shaman” (Brazil), directed by Luiz Bolognesi
The Silver Hugo: “The Raft” (Sweden), directed by Marcus Lindeen
Gold Q Award (LBGTQ Films)
The Gold Hugo: “ Retalbo” (Peru/Germany/Norway), directed by Alvaro Delgado Aparicio
The Silver Hugo: “Rafiki” (Kenya/South Africa/Germany/Netherlands/France/Norway/Lebanon), directed by Wanuri Kahiu
Special Mention: “Hard Paint” (Brazil), directed by Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon
Chicago Award
Short Film Competition
The Gold Hugo – Narrative: “Mamartuille” (Mexico), directed by Alejandro Saevich
The Silver Hugo – Narrative: “Hair Wolf” (USA), directed by Mariama Diallo
Special Mention – Narrative: “Nyi ma lay” (Singapore), directed by Wei Liang Chiang
The Silver Hugo – Documentary: “Circle” (UK/Canada/India), directed by Jayisha Patel
Gold Plaque – Documentary: “Edgecombe” (USA), directed by Crystal Kayiza
Special Mention – Documentary: “Black 44” (USA), directed by Darius Clark Monroe
The Silver Hugo – Animated: “Bloeistraat 11” (The Netherlands), directed by Nienke Deutz
Gold Plaque – Animated: “Weekends” (USA), directed by Trevor Jimenez
Special Mention – Animated: “Opening Night” (USA), directed by Margaret Bialis
The Founder’s Award
The Founder’s Award: “Beautiful Boy” (USA), directed by Felix Van Groeningen – Presented by Michael Kutza
 [19] | By PATRICK McDONALD [20] |
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