The Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) closed the 61st edition of North America’s longest-running competitive film festival on Sunday October 26, and announces the winners of its Audience Awards in four categories: U.S. Feature, International Feature, Documentary, and Short Film.
The Audience Award for U.S. Feature goes to RENTAL FAMILY, following an American actor (Brendan Fraser) who finds work in modern-day Tokyo working for a Japanese “rental family” agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers in HIKARI’s heartfelt and poignant comedy.
The Audience Award for International Feature goes to Italy’s PRIMAVERA, celebrated opera and stage director Damiano Michieletto’s story of Antonio Vivaldi, underappreciated in his own time and told through the lens of a young muse, who herself is transformed by music as she finds the inspiration to rewrite her own destiny.
This year’s Audience Award for Documentary is shared by two very different films. Years after cheating allegations stripped Chicago’s Jackie Robinson West Little League Baseball team of their championship title, director Kevin Shaw revisits the story with conversations with the charismatic young athletes, now adults, in ONE GOLDEN SUMMER, a sensitive, universal film about personal resilience, the strength of family, and what it means to be a true champion; the film also won the Chicago Award in the Festival’s City & State competition. Audiences responded equally powerfully to CHILD OF DUST, director Weronika Miczewska’s heartfelt, intimate film following the emotionally complex journey of a Vietnamese man who ventures to meet his American father for the first time.
The Shorts program had audiences raving over WEDNESDAYS WITH GRAMPS, presented in the Shorts 6: Family Friendly Animation program. Written and directed by Chicagoans Chris Copeland & Justin Copeland, this funny and stylish film follows the relationship between grandfather and grandson as they bond over an unexpected shared interest.
On Friday October 24, the Festival announced the winners of this year’s jury competitions, with the Gold Hugo in the International Feature Competition going to Oliver Laxe’s SIRÂT, and THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB, directed by Festival alum Kaouther Ben Hania, recognized with the Silver Hugo Jury Prize. Mascha Schilinski earned the Silver Hugo for Best Director for SOUND OF FALLING, with the film also receiving a Silver Hugo for Sound. Silver Hugos for Best Performances went to Wagner Moura (THE SECRET AGENT) and Ezster Tompa(KONTINENTAL ‘25); Paolo Sorrentino won Best Screenplay for LA GRAZIA; and Gergley Pálos took Best Cinematography for SILENT FRIEND. Nastia Korkia’s SHORT SUMMER took the Gold Hugo in the New Directors Competition, Sepideh Farsi’s PUT YOUR SOUL ON YOUR HAND AND WALK earned the Gold Hugo in the International Documentary Competition, and Orian Barki and Meriem Bennani’s BOUCHRA won the Gold QHugo in the OutLook Competition.
The 61st Chicago International Film Festival presented 114 feature films and 70 short films October 15 – 26, 2025, screening at venues across the city including AMC NEWCITY 14, the Music Box Theatre, the Gene Siskel Film Center, the Chicago History Museum, the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago, Kennedy-King College, and the National Museum of Mexican Art. For more information, visit the Festival’s website at chicagofilmfestival.com.
Photo: Shannon Gorman and Brendan Fraser in RENTAL FAMILY
Photo Credit: James Lisle/Searchlight Pictures
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