CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
The Gold Hugo: ‘Godland’ at 58th Chicago Intl. Film Festival
CHICAGO – The 58th Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) announced its award winners on October 21st, 2022, and the recipient of The Gold Hugo in the International Feature Film Competition – the festival’s top honor – is Hiynu Pålmason’s ‘Godland”, a multi-layered critique of colonialist destruction.
Picking up the Festival’s Silver Hugo in the International Feature Film competition is “Close” (directed by Lucas Dhant), which also receives the Gold Hugo-Q in the OutLook competition. In the New Directors Competition, Charlotte Le Bon’s “Falcon Lake” takes the Gold Hugo and Ann Oren’s “Piaffe” takes the Silver Hugo. The complete list of honorees is below.
“The Chicago International Film Festival has a 58-year history of honoring the most exciting, most original talent, and this year’s winners reflect a diversity of storytelling and filmmaking in remarkable and timely ways,” said Chicago International Film Festival Artistic Director Mimi Plauché. “With visual languages bold and subtle, rich and complex, the films transport us to different worlds, both familiar and far away, and by immersing us in new places and new experiences they broaden the ways in which we see and understand our own world, transforming us in the process.”
Find capsule descriptions of all the films by CLICKING HERE.
International Feature Film Competition
Godland
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival
The Gold Hugo for Best Film: “Godland” (Denmark, Iceland, France, Sweden) Directed by Hiynur Pålmason
The film, inspired by a collection of wet plate photographs of rural Iceland taken by a priest in the late 1800s, follows an arrogant, naïve Danish priest on a mission to establish a remote parish for homesteaders in Iceland, then a colony of Denmark, and convert the locals to Christianity.
The Silver Hugo – Jury Prize: “Close” (Belgium, France, The Netherlands), directed by Lukas Dhont
The Silver Hugo – Best Director: Maryam Touzani of “The Blue Caftan”
(France, Morocco, Belgium, Denmark)
The Silver Hugo – Best Performance: Vicky Krieps of “Corsage” (Austria, France, Germany)
The Silver Hugo – Best Ensemble Cast Performance: Denis Ménochet, Marina Foïs, Luis Zahera, Diego Anido, and Marie Colomb of “The Beasts” (Spain, France)
The Silver Hugo – Best Screenplay: Alice Diop, Amrita David, Zoé Galeron, and Marie N’Diaye of “Saint Omar” (France)
The Silver Hugo – Best Cinematography: Maria von Hausswolff of “Godland” (Denmark, Iceland, France, Sweden)
The Silver Hugo – Best Production Design: Marcela Gómez (Production Designer) and Daniel Rincon (Art Director) of “The Kings of the World” (Colombia, Norway, Luxembourg, Mexico, France)
Award for Cinematic Bravery: “No Bears” (Iran) Directed by Jafar Panahi
New Directors Competition
‘Falcon Lake,’ Directed by Charlotte Le Bon
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival
The Gold Hugo: Director Charlotte Le Bon of “Falcon Lake” (Canada, France)
The Silver Hugo Director Ann Oren of “Piaffe” (Germany)
The Roger Ebert Award (Two): “The Great Silence” (Denmark), directed by Katrine Brocks and “A Piece of Sky” (Switzerland, Germany) directed by Michael Koch
International Documentary Competition
Alis
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival
The Gold Hugo: “Alis” (Colombia, Romania, Chile), directed by Clare Weiskopf and Nicolás Van Hemelryck
The Silver Hugo: “The Natural History of Destruction” (Germany, Lithuania, The Netherlands) directed by Sergei Loznitsa
Outlook Competition (LBGTQ+ Films)
Close
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival
The Gold Q-Hugo: “Close” (Belgium, France, The Netherlands), directed by Lukas Dhont
The Silver Q-Hugo: “Paloma” (Brazil, Portugal), directed by Marcelo Gomes
Special Mention: “Alis” (Colombia, Romania, Chile), directed by Clare Weiskopf and Nicolás Van Hemelryck
Chicago Award
”King of Kings: Chasing Edward Jones” (USA, France) Directed by Harriet Marin Jones
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival
Honorable Mention: “Matriarch” (USA), directed by Donald Conley
Short Film Competition
The Headhunter’s Daughter
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival
The Gold Hugo – Narrative: “The Headhunter’s Daughter” (The Philippines), directed by Don Jospehus Raphael Eblahan
The Silver Hugo – Narrative: “Live” (Poland), directed by Mara Tamkovich
The Gold Hugo – Documentary: “Nazarbazi” (Iran), directed by Maryam Tarakofy
The Silver Hugo – Documentary: “Revolver” (USA), directed by Crystal Z Campbell
The Gold Hugo – Animated: “Ice Merchants” (Portugal), directed by João Gonzalez
The Silver Hugo – Animated: “My Year of Dicks” (USA), directed by Sara Gunnarsdóttir
By PATRICK McDONALD |