Being a Chicago Indie Critics (CIC) member, I get the privilege to vote for The Windie Awards. This is the CICs awards that we collectively vote on to celebrate the incredible movies that came out. It is always a crazy time trying to remember every performance and movie that came out and voting for the ones you feel deserve some accolades. After a few rounds of voting we came down to a final ballot and here are the outcomes. Check out the official word below along with the winners.
Finishing their ninth year as a recognized awards-voting body and haven for film critics of diverse backgrounds
and talents, the Chicago Indie Critics have announced the 2024 winners of their Windie Awards. The voting
film critic members completed their final 27-category ballots this past week. The Chicago Indie Critics
presented their 2024 Windie Award winners on the evening of January 16th, 2025 at a private invitation-only
Awards Party.
Here is the list of winners and any statements we received from them.
2024 CIC WINDIE AWARD WINNERS
BEST INDEPENDENT FILM
The Substance
Producers: Coralie Fargeat, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner
“In a world where most of the top box office films are sequels or IP based it is getting harder and harder to make original films.So for The Substance to not only have been enjoyed by the general public reaching almost $80m world wide at cinemas…. but to be also recognised by a group like yours makes our job as producers, breathing life into films like these, even better. So… a huge thank you from everyone at Working Title for taking the time to watch our movie and more importantly for choosing to honour it. Thank you, thank you and we know we will now enjoy every future visit to Chicago even more knowing you have given us this accolade! Have a great 2025!”
– Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan
BEST STUDIO FILM
Dune: Part Two
Producers: Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe, and Denis Villeneuve
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Flow
Producers: Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens, and Gregory Zalcman
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Director and Producers: Robert Ford, Lizzie Gillett, Ian Bonhôte, Connor Schell, and Libby Geist
“It’s been the privilege of a lifetime to make this film, and we are deeply honoured that it has received this award from the CIC. We want to accept it on behalf not just of us, the directors and producers of the film, but also our exceptional creative team, composer Ilan Eshkeri, editor Otto Burnham and our archival producers Daniel Kilroy and Layla Snell. Finally this film could not have been made without Matthew, Alexandra and Will Reeve’s participation and their beautiful and poignant testimony which has profoundly moved audiences all over the world. Thank you from us all.”– From the directors Ian Bonhote and Peter Ettedgui and the producers Lizzie Gillett, Robert Ford and Ian Bonhote
BEST ANIMATED FILM
The Wild Robot
Director and Producer: Chris Sanders and Jeff Hermann
BEST DIRECTOR
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes
BEST ACTOR
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
BEST ACTRESS
Demi Moore – The Substance
Via publicist Carrie Gordon: “I think we are going to hold off on this while there is so much devastation happening in LA. Thank you for the lovely honor and for your understanding.”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (tie)
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
“I am truly honored to receive the Chicago Indie Critics Award for Best Breakout Performer and to share the Best Supporting Actor Award with the talented Guy Pearce. This recognition also highlights the importance of diversity in storytelling. I am grateful to the Chicago Indie Critics for their commitment to celebrating independent film and for acknowledging our collective efforts in creating meaningful art. I look forward to continuing to push boundaries and explore new narratives in the future. Thank you for this incredible honor!” – Clarence Maclin
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
BEST ENSEMBLE
Sing Sing
Casting Director: Greg Kwedar
BEST BREAKOUT PERFORMER
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
BEST BREAKOUT ARTIST
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
SIGHT UNSEEN PERFORMANCE
Lupita Nyong’o – The Wild Robot
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Nosferatu – Jarin Blaschke
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN (tie)
The Brutalist – Judy Becker
Nosferatu – Craig Lathrop
BEST EDITING
Challengers – Marco Costa
“Thank you, Chicago Indie Critics, for the Windie Award. I’m deeply honored to receive this recognition. Seeing Challengers recognized around the world fills my heart with happiness. Thank you for reminding me to always keep pushing the envelope.”
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Nosferatu – Linda Muir
BEST MAKEUP
The Substance – Pierre-Olivier Persin
“Thank you so much. I’m proud you are awarding our work, and I do intend to keep on doing twisted things for the movies! Thank you so much to the Chicago Indie Critics. I am thrilled to be awarded for The Substance, and that you acknowledge the practical makeup effects we did. In a world of AI, this is a great recognition.I would also like to thank my whole crew at POP FX, for their talent and relentless work, and Dave and Lou Elsey in the UK. And of course thank you to Coralie Fargeat, and to our courageous cast, Demi Moore and Margeret Qualley. Thank you so much again, and we do intend to keep on making crazy things for the movies!”
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Dune: Part Two – Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, and Gerd Nefzer
BEST STUNTS
Monkey Man
Stunt Coordinator: Udeh Nans
Video Comment by Udeh Nans
BEST SOUND
Dune: Part Two – Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett, and Doug Hemphill
“Wow, the sound teams are incredibly honored to receive the Windie award from the Chicago Indie Critics!!! Really glad you loved the soundtrack, lots of amazing work from so many people in the sound department went into the movie. It’s a real testament to the vision of Denis.”
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers
“I’m deeply grateful to the Chicago Indie Critics for taking the time to listen to this score and for honoring me with this award. Thank you, Chris Sanders, for your generous collaboration and for creating “houses” where music could truly live in this heartfelt film. It was a privilege to help bring The Wild Robot to life, and I’m especially thankful to Jeff Hermann, DreamWorks and Universal for placing their trust in me.”
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Compress/Repress” – Challengers
Songwriters: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Luca Guadagnino
THE IMPACT AWARD
Given to an individual or group who has made a positive impact on local Chicago cinema
Kyle Cubr – Programmer, Music Box Theatre
“Wow! That’s amazing! I’m really honored to have been nominated and won this award. I’d like to recognize the other nominees in this category for their outstanding contributions to the Chicago film community. I’d also like to extend a huge thank you to all of my coworkers at the Music Box Theatre. This honor would not have been possible without their tireless time, dedication, and passion. I’m really happy to see how well my contributions to the programming, and in particular the Godzilla vs. Music Box Series, resonated with the people of Chicago. Hoping to continue to grow and thrive in 2025!”
WINDIE AWARD WINNERS BY THE NUMBERS:
7: The Substance
3: The Brutalist, Dune: Part Two, Nosferatu, Sing Sing, The Wild Robot
2: Challengers
1: Flow, Monkey Man, Nickel Boys, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story