The winners have been announced for the 59th Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) Audience Choice Awards, Presented by Xfinity.
CIFF announced this year’s winning films at North America’s longest-running competitive film festival’s 59th edition, running October 11 – 22.
These films were selected by you, the viewers of the 59th Chicago International Film Festival, as your favorites.
After 12 incredible days of films, the votes have been tallied, and here is the list of the Audience Choice Awards.
Best U.S. Feature
Dir. Minhal Baig | United States
The heartfelt story follows two 10-year-olds, Malik and Eric, as they revel in the freedoms of boyhood and the joys of friendship. The projects are their playground, and every stairway, roof, and stretch of blacktop is just another place for adventure. But when violence comes to their neighborhood, their safe haven is fractured, and Malik’s mother Dolores (Jurnee Smollett) must decide whether to stay or move away.
Best International Feature
Green Border Zielona Granica
Dir. Agnieszka Holland | Poland, France, Czech Republic, Belgium
Urgent, clear-eyed, and helmed with incredible conviction, Green Border finds master filmmaker Agnieszka Holland training her camera on a real-life geopolitical crisis. Set on the border of Poland and Belarus, the film offers a glimpse into the lives of refugees fleeing to the European Union and the humanitarian activists working to help them reach safety.
When a family of Syrian asylum seekers is left stranded in the forest, a group of Belarusian border guards shepherds them into Poland. When they encounter the Polish military, they’re forced back over into Belarus. Julia, a psychologist who lives alone near the border, witnesses this cyclical, inhumane back-and-forth and joins up with a group of activists working to rectify the situation.
Best Documentary
Dirs. Lisa Cortés, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza | United States
Pioneers in civil rights and outer space, Black astronauts like Guion Bluford, Victor Glover, and Chicago’s own Mae Jemison boldly ventured where no Black Americans had ever gone before. The Space Race is the untold story of their adventures in flight and the social forces they endeavored to transcend. Anchored by the story of Ed Dwight — who was handpicked by JFK to be the first African-American in space before he was dropped from the mission — the film chronicles the personal and political battles these pioneers encountered through the decades.
Filled with rich historical footage and candid interviews with many self-proclaimed “Afronauts,” the film connects their ambitions with cultural forces like the Black Power movement and the Afrofuturism of icons like musician Sun Ra and author Octavia Butler. Expansive, moving, and uplifting, the film is a profound act of reclamation, giving voice to a group of trailblazers, who have been largely missing from the official history — until now.
Best Short Film
376 Days (Nick Cave: Keep it Movin’)
Dir. Claude-Aline T Nazaire-Miller | United States
376 Days (Nick Cave: Keep it Movin’) takes viewers on an intimate exploration of acclaimed artist Nick Cave’s life and creative process as he prepares for a retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, marking the culmination of his illustrious 40-year career. The focus extends to an extraordinary 80-piece couture fashion performance titled “The Color Is,” which beautifully celebrates themes of gender identity and acceptance.
Nazaire-Miller’s inspiring documentary offers an unfiltered glimpse into Cave’s authentic vulnerability and humanity as both an artist and a cherished member of his community. It’s a testament to the profound love and support that surrounds him. 376 Days confidently signals that Cave’s body of work will continue to resonate and leave an indelible mark on the art world for generations to come.
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