Chicago Indie Critics: ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ dominates with 7 wins including Best Film; Chadwick Boseman earns three awards

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, directed by George C. Wolfe and adapted from August Wilson’s stage play, dominated this year’s CIC Awards, winning seven of its nine nominations.

The Netflix original film was named the Best Studio Film in a tie with another offering from the streaming leader, Best Director winner Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom also won awards for adapted screenplay, lead actor, lead actress, ensemble cast, costume design, and makeup.

Starring in both of those films, late actor Chadwick Boseman was honored by the CIC, winning posthumous awards for Best Actor (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Best Supporting Actor (Da 5 Bloods), and special recognition as the recipient of the group’s Impact Award celebrating a person whose work during the past year or beyond made a positive influence on society. Also of note, Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland won Best Independent Film and Small Axe anthology filmmaker Steve McQueen won the CIC’s Trailblazer Award honoring the work of an artist who truly pushed the boundaries of the medium in terms of form and content.

Aaron Sorkin’s 1960s era protest film The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Emerald Fennell’s rape revenge dark satire Promising Young Woman shared the original screenplay prize.

In all, 45 different films are represented with nominations for the 2020 CIC Awards.  

Two awards of special recognition and interest are the annual Trailblazer and Impact Awards. The CIC’s Trailblazer Award honors the work of an artist who truly pushed the boundaries of the medium in terms of form and content and went to Small Axe director Steve McQueen. The Impact Award celebrates a person whose work during the past year or beyond made a positive influence on society and went to Chadwick Boseman.

Here is the full list of winners

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM (budgets under $20 million)

NOMADLAND

Producers: Frances McDorman, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, and Chloe Zhao

BEST STUDIO FILM (budgets over $20 million)

DA 5 BLOODS (tie)

Producers: John Kilik, Spike Lee, Beatriz Levin, and Lloyd Levin

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM (tie)

Producers: Denzel Washington, Todd Black, and Dany Wolf

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

HIS HOUSE

Producers: Aidan Elliott, Martin Gentles, Arnon Milchan, Ed King, and Roy Lee

BEST DOCUMENTARY

BOYS STATE

Producers: Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss

BEST ANIMATED FILM

SOUL

Producers: Dana Murray

BEST DIRECTOR

Spike Lee, DA 5 BLOODS

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN – Emerald Fennell (tie)

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 – Aaron Sorkin (tie)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM – Ruben Santiago-Hudson

BEST ACTOR

Chadwick Boseman, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

BEST ACTRESS

Viola Davis, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Chadwick Boseman, DA 5 BLOODS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Maria Bakalova, BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Donald Graham Burt, MANK

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Joshua James Richards, NOMADLAND

BEST EDITING

Alan Baumgarten, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

BEST MUSICAL SCORE

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, SOUL

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Speak Now” – ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

Written by Leslie Odom Jr. and Sam Ashworth, Performed by Leslie Odom Jr.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Jonathan Dearing and Dan Oliver, THE INVISIBLE MAN

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Ann Roth, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

BEST MAKEUP

Matiki Anoff, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

SPECIAL AWARDS

TRAILBLAZER AWARD 

Honors the work of an artist who truly pushes the boundaries of the medium in terms of form and content

Steve McQueen

IMPACT AWARD

Given to a person whose work has had a positive impact on society

Chadwick Boseman

Founded in 2016, the Chicago Indie Critics (formerly known as the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle) is a creative and engaging non-for-profit organization composed of unique, dedicated, and diversified film critics.  Its members are wide-ranging in experiences, backgrounds, tastes, and target audiences across both print and online platforms and publications. The CIC organized to share their personal assessments, commentaries, passions, and creativity in the vigilant effort to highlight the greatness and diversity found in both independent and mainstream films. While they originate in the Chicagoland area, the efforts of Chicago Indie Critics are to share, celebrate, and promote the rich artistic medium of film to audiences, fans, and eager minds across the nation and the world as an exemplary and upstanding pillar of intelligent print and broadcast journalism.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom image courtesy of David Lee / Netflix