KSanders writesThe 59th Annual Chicago International Film Fest—That’s a Wrap!

by Kyle Sanders

And that's a wrap for the 59th Annual Chicago International Film Festival! Surprisingly, I managed to check out OVER 30 TITLES, but some were too singular and atypical to include in my previous posts. Here's a quick shout-out to those films:

The Beautiful Summer (Italy)

The Bride (Rwanda)

The Crime is Mine (France)

Eric Larue (U.S.)

The Hypnosis (Sweden/Norway/France)

In water (South Korea)

The People's Joker (U.S./Canada/Scotland)

Poor Things (U.S.)

Several of the movies I watched ultimately took home some prizes. This year's Gold Hugo went to one of the very first films I screened, Explanation for Everything. The Silver Hugo went to The Delinquents, which was on my to-do list but sadly got cast aside (I needed the rest, mmmmkay?!) 

Other winning titles were The Burdened and Sweet Dreams, which took home the Gold and Silver Hugo Awards in the New Directors Competition. The Roger Ebert Award went to Goodbye Julia, while the The Chicago Award went to this year's opening night film, We Grown Now. 

In the International Documentary competition, one of my favorite documentaries, the Polish-Ukrainian production In the Rearview, won the Silver Hugo, while the Gold Hugo went to Mexico's The Echo.

Other awards went to Aki Kaurismaki's Fallen Leaves (Silver Hugo - Best Director), Ilinca Manolache in Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World (Silver Hugo - Best Performance) and Ece Bagci in About Dry Grasses (Best Supporting Performance). The Silver Hugo for Best Ensemble went to the cast of La Chimera).

In the Outlook Competition (those films dealing with LGBTQ+ stories), the Gold Q-Hugo went to Japan's Monster, and the Silver-Q Hugo went to Housekeeping for Beginners. A Special Mention was given to Argentina's Carnal Sins, one of the last films I reviewed this year.

After two weeks of shirking all professional responsibilities and social activities, I'm both saddened yet elated that another festival has come to an end. And while I'll be using the next 365 days to rest, I look forward to next year's 60th Chicago International Film Festival with bated breath!

Until next time CHIRPers, I'll be seeing you at the movies!