2024 Chicago Indie Critics (CIC) Nominations

Celebrating their ninth year, the Chicago Indie Critics have announced the nominees for their Windie Awards. The voting film critic members completed ballots this week to select Windie nominees in 27 categories.

Leading the way with 11 nominations are both Mubi’s The Substance and Focus Features’ Nosferatu. Coralie Fargeat’s fearless body horror film was nominated for Best Independent Film (budgeted $30 million and under), Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Breakout Artist all for Coralie Fargeat, Demi Moore for Best Actress, Margaret Qualley for Best Supporting Actress and in the artistic categories of production design, costume design, makeup, sound, and original score. Robert Eggers’ remake of the 1922 classic places in Best Studio Film, Lily-Rose Depp for Best Actress, Bill Skarsgård for Best Supporting Actor, and a massive performance in the artistic categories with cinematography, production design, editing, costume design, makeup, visual effects, sound, and original score.

Following suit is another impressive tie in second place with 10 nominations each for The Brutalist and Dune: Part Two. Brady Corbet’s sweeping American epic joins The Substance in Best Independent Film, while Denis Villeneuve’s powerhouse sci-fi sequel joins Nosferatu in Best Studio Film. Rounding out those categories are Anora, I Saw the TV Glow, and Sing Sing in Best Independent Film, and Challengers, A Complete Unknown, and Wicked in Best Studio Film. It was a year of some very close races, including a three-way tie for the fifth spot with Best Actress. Altogether, 21 films received multiple Windie nominations, and 47 films overall were represented across all categories (Ten more than last year’s 37). 

As a special category of local recognition, the Chicago Indie Critics annually presents the Impact Award. The distinction celebrates a group or person whose work during the past year or beyond positively influenced the Chicagoland film community. This year’s Impact Award nominees include Emma Greenleaf and Nick Edelberg, members of the Facets Anime Club, Mimi Plauche, Artistic Director of the Cinema/Chicago, Morgan Harris of Acacia Consulting Group, and finally, both Kyle Cubr and Ramona Slick, Programmers at the Music Box Theatre. 

The CIC members will commence a final round of voting ending on January 12, 2024. The 2024 Windie winners will be announced on January 18, 2024. Here is the complete list of nominations.

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM

Anora

Producers: Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, and Sean Baker

The Brutalist

Producers: Nick Gordon, D.J. Gugenheim, Andrew Lauren, Trevor Matthews, Andrew Morrison, and Brian Young

I Saw the TV Glow

Producers: Sam Intili, Sarah Winshall, Emma Stone, Dave McCary, and Ali Herting

Sing Sing

Producers: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, and Monique Walton

The Substance

Producers: Coralie Fargeat, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner

BEST STUDIO FILM

Challengers

Producers: Amy Pascal, Luca Guadagnino, Zendaya, and Rachel O’Connor

A Complete Unknown

Producers: Fred Berger, James Mangold, Alex Heineman, Bob Bookman, Peter Jaysen, Alan Gasmer, Jeff Rosen, and Timothée Chalamet

Dune: Part Two
Producers: Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe, and Denis Villeneuve

Nosferatu

Producers: Chris Columbus, Eleanor Columbus, and Robert Eggers

Wicked

Producers: Marc Platt and David Stone

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

All We Imagine as Light

Producers: Julien Graff and Thomas Hakim

Emilia Perez

Producers: Pascal Caucheteux, Jacques Audiard, and Valérie Schermann

Flow

Producers: Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens, and Gregory Zalcman

Kneecap

Producers: Jack Tarling and Trevor Birney

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Producers: Mohammad Rasoulof, Rozita Hendijanian, Amin Sadraei, Jean-Christophe Simon, Mani Tilgner

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM

Daughters

Director and Producers: Angela Patton, Natalie Rae

Music by John Williams

Director and Producers: Laurent Bouzereau, Sara Bernstein, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Meredith Kaulfers, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Steven Spielberg, and Justin Wilkes

Sugarcane
Director and Producers: Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

Director and Producers: Robert Ford, Lizzie Gillett, Ian Bonhôte, Connor Schell, and Libby Geist

Will & Harper

Director and Producers: Josh Greenbaum, Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, Chris Leggett, and Rafael Marmor

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Flow

Director and Producers: Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens, and Gregory Zalcman

Inside Out 2

Director and Producer: Kelsey Mann and Mark Nielsen

Memoir of a Snail

Director and Producers: Adam Elliot and Liz Kearney

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Director and Producer: Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham

The Wild Robot

Director and Producer: Chris Sanders and Jeff Hermann

BEST DIRECTOR

• Sean Baker – Anora
• Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
• Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
• RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
• Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Anora – Sean Baker
• The Brutalist – Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold
• I Saw the TV Glow – Jane Schoenbrun
• A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
• The Substance – Coralie Fargeat

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• Conclave – Peter Straughan
• Dune: Part Two – Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts
• Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes
• Sing Sing – Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, and John “Divine G” Whitfield
• The Wild Robot – Chris Sanders

BEST ACTOR

• Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
• Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
• Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
• Hugh Grant – Heretic
• Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice

BEST ACTRESS

• Amy Adams – Nightbitch
• Lily-Rose Depp – Nosferatu
• Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
• Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
• Angelina Jolie – Maria
• Mikey Madison – Anora
• Demi Moore – The Substance

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
• Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
• Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
• Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
• Bill Skarsgård – Nosferatu

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
• Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Nickel Boys
• Ariana Grande-Butera – Wicked
• Margaret Qually – The Substance
• Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez

BEST ENSEMBLE

Conclave

Casting Directors: Nina Gold and Martin Ware

Dune: Part Two

Casting Directors: Francine Maisler and Dixie Chassney

Saturday Night

Casting Director: John Papsidera

Sing Sing

Casting Director: Greg Kwedar

Wicked

Casting Director: Tiffany Little Canfield and Bernard Telsey

BEST BREAKOUT PERFORMER

• Yuriy Borisov – Anora
  Vera Drew – The People’s Joker
• Willa Fitzgerald – Strange Darling
• Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
• Adam Pearson – A Different Man Aaron Pierre – Rebel Ridge

BEST BREAKOUT ARTIST

• Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist
• Kris Bowers- The Wild Robot
• Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
• Dev Patel – Monkey Man
• RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys

SIGHT UNSEEN PERFORMANCE

• Daveed Diggs – Nickel Boys
• Maya Hawke – Inside Out 2
• Lupita Nyong’o – The Wild Robot
• Pedro Pascal – The Wild Robot
• Sarah Snook – Memoirs of a Snail

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• The Brutalist – Lol Crawley
• Civil War – Rob Hardy
• Dune: Part Two – Greig Fraser
• Nickel Boys – Jomo Fray
• Nosferatu – Jarin Blaschke

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• The Brutalist – Judy Becker
• Conclave – Suzie Davies and Roberta Federico
• Nosferatu – Craig Lathrop
• The Substance – Stanislas Reydellet, Cécilia Blom
• Wicked – Nathan Crowley

BEST EDITING

• The Brutalist – Dávid Jancsó
• Challengers – Marco Costa
• Dune: Part Two – Joe Walker
• Nickel Boys – Nicholas Monsour
• Nosferatu – Louise Ford

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Conclave – Lisy Christl
• Dune: Part Two – Jacqueline West
• Nosferatu – Linda Muir
• The Substance – Emmanuelle Youchnovski
• Wicked – Paul Tazewell

BEST MAKEUP

• Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – Christine Blundell, Lesa Warrener, and Neal Scanlan
• A Different Man – Mike Marino, Sarah Graalman, and Aaron Saucier
• Nosferatu – Traci Loader, Suzanne Stokes-Munton, and David White
• The Substance – Pierre-Olivier Persin
• Wicked – Frances Hannon, Sarah Nuth, and Laura Blount

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• Civil War – David Simpson, J.D. Schwalm, Chris Zeh, and Freddy Salazar
• Dune: Part Two – Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, and Gerd Nefzer
• Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes – Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story, and Rodney Burke
• Nosferatu – Angela Barson
• Twisters – Ben Snow, Florian Witzel, and Bill Georgiou

BEST STUNTS

Deadpool & Wolverine

Stunt Coordinator: Colin Follenweider and Liang Yang

Dune: Part Two

Stunt Coordinator: Roger Yuan

The Fall Guy

Stunt Coordinators: Keir Beck and Chris O’Hara

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Stunt Coordinators: Guy Norris and Tim Wong

Monkey Man

Stunt Coordinator: Udeh Nans

BEST SOUND

• Civil War – Glenn Freemantle
• Dune: Part Two – Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett, and Doug Hemphill
• Nosferatu – Robin Carolan
• The Substance – Valérie Deloof and Victor Fleurant
• The Wild Robot – Randy Thom, Gary A. Rizzo, Leff Lefferts, and Brian Chumney

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• The Brutalist – Daniel Blumberg
• Challengers – Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor
• Nosferatu – Robin Carolan
• The Substance – Benjamin “Rafferie” Stefanski
• The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Beautiful That Way” – The Last Showgirl
Songwriters: Andrew Wyatt, Lykke Li, and Miley Cyrus

“Compress/Repress” – Challengers
Songwriters: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Luca Guadagnino

“Kiss the Sky” – The Wild Robot
Songwriters: Delacey, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Maren Morris, Michael Pollack, and Ali Tamposi

“Like a Bird” – Sing Sing
Songwriters: Abraham Alexander, Brandon Marcel, and Adrian Quesada

“Starburned and Unkissed” – I Saw the TV Glow
Songwriter: Caroline Polachek

THE IMPACT AWARD

Given to individual or group who has made a positive impact on local Chicago cinema

Emma Greenleaf and Nick Edelberg – Facets Anime Club Kyle Cubr – Programmer, Music Box Theatre
Mimi Plauche – Artistic Director of the Cinema/Chicago Morgan Harris – Acacia Consulting Group Ramona Slick – Programmer, Music Box Theatre

WINDIE AWARD NOMINATIONS BY THE NUMBERS:

11: Nosferatu, The Substance
10: The Brutalist, Dune: Part Two
8: The Wild Robot
7: Nickel Boys, Sing Sing, Wicked
5: Anora,
4: Challengers, Conclave
3: A Complete Unknown, I Saw the TV Glow, Civil War
2: A Different Man, Emilia Perez, Flow, Inside Out 2, Memoirs of a Snail, Monkey Man, A Real Pain
1: All We Imagine as Light, The Apprentice, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Daughters, Deadpool & Wolverine, The Fall Guy, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Hard Truths, Heretic, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Kneecap, The Last Showgirl, Maria, Music by John Williams, Nightbitch, The Piano Lesson, The People’s Joker, Rebel Ridge, Saturday Night, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Strange Darling, Sugarcane, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story. Twisters, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Will & Harper