The 53rd Chicago International Film Festival announced its winners Friday night and one of the films awarded was a Cutters Studios post project by writer / director Stephen Cone called Princess Cyd. The film was given “The Chicago Award.”
A Chicago-based filmmaker, Cone is best known for 2015’s Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party, which was hailed by critics as a naturalistic and nuanced look at a teenage boy reconciling his burgeoning homosexuality with his religious upbringing.
Princess Cyd tells the story of 16-year-old Cyd (Jessie Pinnick) who decides to take a break from her depressive single father and spend a summer in Chicago with her aunt Miranda (Rebecca Spence), a well-known novelist.
Soon after her arrival, Cyd encounters Katie (Malic White), a young barista behind the counter. The two make plans to meet up after Katie’s shift and a new, charged relationship begins. The Chicago landscape expands, and we navigate intimate and fragile moments between Cyd and Katie as they explore their new attraction.
Miranda functions as a counterpart to young Cyd’s new explorations of sexuality and love, and as the summer continues they develop a strong relationship founded on a shared openness and healthy criticism of particular personal moments. Watch the trailer to this engaging film below:
Cone’s film is enjoying a highly successful film festival run, having earned critical acclaim worldwide and brought home the Narrative Feature Audience Award at the 2017 Sidewalk Film Festival.
Cone chose Cutters’ editor Christopher Gotschall to edit. For Gotschall, who edited WTTW’s 2016 Emmy Award-winning Albany Park Theater Project Feast special, this represented his first full-length feature.
“Stephen is a writer/director/actor I’ve long admired, and someone I’ve wanted to collaborate with since seeing Wise Kids years ago. His work is always engaging, honest, brave, character-driven and spiritually relevant — my favorite things in a movie. He usually edits his own material, so I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had this opportunity to work with him. Princess Cyd pushed me out of my comfort zone as an editor, and I’m thrilled that it’s resonating with audiences and critics.”
Gotschall joined Cone and the film’s producers at the CIFF premiere screening on Oct. 17. The film’s credits also include Cutters Studios’ Another Country’s, re-recording mixer Drew Weir, sound effects editors Alex Paguirigan and Logan Vines, producer Louise Rider and executive producer Tim Konn.
“Cutters Studios has a long history of supporting innovative filmmaking in the commercial world and all forms of feature entertainment,” said company CEO Tim McGuire. “Christopher Gotschall stands behind a feature films that is going to get a lot of attention at CIFF and worldwide.”
Princess Cyd opens in Chicago and New York on November 3.
To view photos from the Chicago International Film Festival’s Awards night, click here.
Other awards included:
GOLD HUGO
A Sort of Family
SILVER HUGO BEST DIRECTOR
Joanna Kos-Krauze and Krzysztof Krauze, Birds Are Singing in Kigali
SILVER HUGO BEST ACTRESS
Jowita Budnik and Eliane Umuhire, Birds Are Singing in Kigali
SILVER HUGO JURY
Felicite
SILVER HUGO BEST ACTOR
Aleksandr Yatsenko, Arrhythmia
BEST SCREENPLAY SILVER
Mohammad Rasoul, A Man of Integrity
SILVER PLAQUE, CINEMATOGRAPHY
Chayse Irvin, Hannah
SILVER PLAQUE, ART DIRECTION
Vaclav Novak, The Line
GOLD HUGO, NEW DIRECTORS JURY
Vahid Jalilvand, No Date, No Signature,
SILVER HUGO, DIRECTOR
Milad Alami, The Charmer
ROGER EBERT AWARD
Laura Mora, Killing Jesus.
Princess Cyd Credits
Director: Stephen Cone
Writer: Stephen Cone
Cast: Rebecca Spence, Jessie Pinnick, Malic White, James Vincent Meredith, Tyler Ross, Matthew Quattrocki
Composer: Heather McIntosh
Director of Photography: Zoe White
Digital Intermediate: Company 3 Chicago
Colorist: Tyler Roth
Assistant Colorist: Parker Jarvie
DI Producer: Joel Signer
VFX Artist: Ryan Wood
Distributor: Wolfe Releasing
Contact Colin Costello at colin@reelchicago.com or follow him on Twitter @colincostello.com.
