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
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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