Chicago International Film Festival

The Chicago International Film Festival’s Black Perspectives Program was founded in 1997 in collaboration with Spike Lee to highlight the excellence and diversity of African American cinema and films by the African diaspora from around the world. In addition to showcasing the work of emerging filmmakers, the program also features an annual tribute, with past honorees that include Viola Davis, Sidney Poitier, Halle Berry, Morgan Freeman, Steve McQueen, and more. ==Awards==

Winners are awarded Hugo Awards (named after a mythological god of discovery "of shadowy origin"; not to be confused with the literary Hugo awards) in eight different competition categories. • International Feature Film Competition • Gold Hugo • Silver Hugo: Jury Prize • Silver Hugo: Best Director • Silver Hugo: Best Actor (until 2019) • Silver Hugo: Best Actress (until 2019) • Silver Hugo: Best Performance (from 2020) • Silver Hugo: Best Ensemble Performance • Silver Hugo: Best Cinematography • Silver Hugo: Best Screenplay • Silver Hugo: Best Sound • Silver Hugo: Best Art Direction • New Directors Competition • International Documentary Competition • Out-Look Competition • City & State Competition • Chicago Award • Live Action Short Film Competition • Documentary Short Film Competition • Animated Short Film Competition == Gold Hugo ==

Jury Award • 2025 – The Voice of Hind Rajab, dir. Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia, France) • 2024 – All We Imagine as Light, dir. Payal Kapadia (India) • 2023 – The Delinquents, dir. Rodrigo Moreno (Argentina) • 2022 – Close, dir. Lukas Dhont (Belgium) • 2021 – Drive My Car, dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Japan) • 2020 – Careless Crime, dir. Shahram Mokri (Iran) • 2019 – Vitalina Varela, dir. Pedro Costa (Portugal) Best Director • 2025 – Mascha Schilinski (Germany) for Sound of Falling • 2024 – Miguel Gomes (Portugal) for Grand Tour • 2023 – Aki Kaurismäki (Finland) for Fallen Leaves • 2022 – Maryam Touzani (Morocco) for The Blue Caftan • 2021 – Peter Kerekes (Slovakia) for 107 Mothers • 2020 – Andrei Konchalovsky (Russia) for Dear Comrades! • 2019 – Maya Da-Rin (Brazil) for The Fever Best Actor • 2025 – Wagner Moura (Brazil) for The Secret Agent • 2024 – Benjamin Voisin (France) for The Quiet Son • 2021 – Bouli Lanners (Belgium) for Nobody Has to Know • 2019 – Bartosz Bielenia (Poland) for Corpus Christi • 1971 – José Luis López Vázquez (Spain) for The Ancines Woods Best Actress • 2025 – Eszter Tompa (Romania) for ''Kontinental '25'' • 2024 – Elín Hall (Iceland) for When the Light Breaks • 2021 – Michelle Fairley (Ireland) for Nobody Has to Know • 2019 – Debbie Honeywood (UK) for Sorry We Missed You • 2018 – Zhao Tao (China) for Ash Is Purest White • 2017 – Jowita Budnik (Poland) and Eliane Umuhire (Rwanda) for Birds Are Singing in Kigali • 2016 – Rebecca Hall (UK) for Christine • 2015 – Lizzie Brocheré (France) for Full Contact • 2014 – Geraldine Chaplin (United States) for Sand Dollars • 2013 – Nadeshda Brennicke (Germany) for '''' • 2012 – Ulla Skoog (Sweden) for The Last Sentence • 2011 – Olivia Colman (UK) for Tyrannosaur • 2010 – Liana Liberato (USA) for Trust • 2009 – Giovanna Mezzogiorno (Italy) for Vincere • 2008 – Preity Zinta (India) for Heaven on Earth • 2007 – Yu Nan (China) for ''Tuya's Marriage'' • 2006 – Viktoriya Isakova, Darya Moroz, Anna Ukolova (Russia) for The Spot • 2005 – Inka Friedrich, Nadja Uhl (Germany) for Summer in Berlin • 2003 – Ludivine Sagnier (France) for Little Lili Best Performance • 2023 – Ilinca Manolache (Romania) for Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World • 2022 – Vicky Krieps (Luxembourg) for Corsage • 2020 – Yakusho Koji (Japan) for Under the Open Sky Best Screenplay • 2025 – Paolo Sorrentino (Italy) for La grazia • 2024 – Mohammad Rasoulof (Iran) for The Seed of the Sacred Fig • 2023 – Gábor Reisz and Éva Schulze (Hungary) for Explanation for Everything • 2022 – Alice Diop, Amrita David, and Marie NDiaye (France) for Saint Omer • 2021 – Alexandre Koberidze (Georgia) for What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? • 2020 – Christos Nikou and Stavros Raptis (Greece) for Apples • 2019 – Pema Tseden (China) for Balloon Best Editing • 2024 – Telmo Churro and Pedro Filipe Marques (Portugal) for Grand Tour Best Cinematography • 2025 – Gergely Pálos (Hungary) for Silent Friend • 2023 – Hélène Louvart (France) for La Chimera • 2022 – Maria von Hausswolff (Iceland) for Godland • 2021 – Kasper Tuxen (Denmark) for The Worst Person in the World • 2020 – Tobie Marier Robitaille (Canada) for Night of the Kings • 2019 – Vladimír Smutný (Czech Republic) for The Painted Bird Best Sound • 2025 – Sound of Falling (Germany) Best Art Direction • 2022 – Marcela Gómez and Daniel Rincon (Colombia) for The Kings of the World • 2021 – Sergey Fevralev (Russia) for Captain Volkonogov Escaped • 2020 – Jagna Dobesz (Poland) for Sweat Best New Director • 2023 – Ena Sendijarević (Netherlands) for Sweet Dreams • 2022 – Ann Oren (Germany) for Piaffe Special Mention • 2025 – ''My Father's Shadow'' • 2024 – Ensemble Performance for On Becoming a Guinea Fowl ==Lifetime Achievement Awards==

Winners of the festival's Lifetime Achievement Award include Steven Spielberg, Helen Hunt, Dustin Hoffman, Martin Landau, Shirley MacLaine, Lord Richard Attenborough, François Truffaut, Jodie Foster, Sigourney Weaver, Robin Williams, Manoel de Oliveira, and Clint Eastwood. ==Career Achievement Awards==

• Bruce Dern (2013) • Terrence Howard (2005) • Susan Sarandon (2005) • Shirley MacLaine (2005) • Robert Zemeckis (2004) • Irma P. Hall, Robert Townsend and Harry J. Lennix (2004) • Annette Bening (2004) • Robin Williams (2004) • Nicolas Cage (2003) ==Television awards==

The Television Awards started with the idea of honoring television commercials in a special event of the film festival, but over time evolved and grew into a bigger event, comprising not only commercials but also television productions, series, and online television. In 2003, a separate ceremony was launched for the TV awards, and in 2017, the event became a separate event, named the Chicago International Television Festival. Winners and runners-up for the various categories, which include Gold and Silver Hugos, are listed on the film festival website. ==See also==