Chicago Festivals by Year: Prizes, Juries, and Favorites   More Festivals Cannes / Toronto / Venice Browse Films by Title / Year / Reviews Main Navigations Home / Blog / E-Mail		Chicago Film Festival 2015 Main Competition Jury: Andrew Davis (president), Nawaf Al Janahi, Laura Astorga, Jossie Harris Thacker, Ivan Trujillo Bolio Gold Hugo of the Festival: A Childhood, France, dir. Philippe Claudel Silver Hugo: Paulina, Argentina/Brazil, dir. Santiago Mitre Best Director: The Club, Chile, Pablo Larraín Best Actress: Full Contact, Lizzie Brochère Best Actor: A Childhood, Alexi Mathieu and Jules Gauzelin Best Ensemble Cast: The Club, Alfredo Castro, Marcelo Alonso, Antonia Zegers, Robert Farías, Jaime Vadell, Alejandro Goic, Alejandro Sieveking, José Soza, Francisco Reyes Best Screenplay: The Club, Guillermo Calderón, Daniel Villalobos, and Pablo Larraín Best Cinematography: Full Contact, Frank Van den Eeden Best Art Direction: My Golden Days, Toma Baqueni   DocuFest Gold Hugo*:   Volta e terra, Portugal/Switzerland, dir. João Pedro Plácido Docufest Silver Hugo*: In the Underground, China, dir. Song Zhantao Docufest Special Mention: Time Suspended, Mexico/Argentina, dir. Natalia Bruschtein   New Directors Gold Hugo*:   Underground Fragrance, China, dir. Pengfei New Directors Silver Hugo*: Sparrows, Iceland, dir. Rúnar Rúnarsson   Q Hugo Award*:   Carol, USA, dir. Todd Haynes Q Hugo Silver Hugo*: Henry Gamble's Birthday Party, USA, dir. Stephen Cone   Founder's Award:   Where to Invade Next, Michael Moore Chicago Award: Radical Grace, USA, dir. Rebecca Parrish Roger Ebert Award: Nahid, Iran, dir. Ida Panahandeh Audience Choice Award (Narrative)**:   Spotlight, Tom McCarthy Audience Choice Award (International)**:   Mustang, Deniz Gamze Ergüven Audience Choice Award (DocuFest)**:   Where to Invade Next, Michael Moore   * These awards are determined by separately constituted juries ** Voted by the public, and announced later than the other awards Features I Saw at CIFF: Includes some films I saw previously, mostly in Toronto Ranked in order of preference   My Golden Hugo Carol A (Special Presentation/OutLook; USA, dir. Todd Haynes) - An icepick. An atomizer. A rose. I've never seen 1950s queer desire depicted as such a braid of frankness and circumspection. Son of Saul A (Highlight; Hungary, dir. László Nemes) - So formally brilliant you can't help noticing, even as you expend all emotional and moral energy. The sound! The story. In Jackson Heights A– (U.S. Indies/Docmentary; USA, dir. Frederick Wiseman) - Most democratic US community abounds with sidewalk pedagogy and filibusters. Everyone tries to save everyone. Dheepan A– (Highlight; France, dir. Jacques Audiard) - Sleek, observant, steadily winching synthesis of prior Audiard themes. Psychology deftly externalized. Actors keep it hot. 45 Years A– (Main Competition; UK, dir. Andrew Haigh) - In which two women step into the same crevasse. Exquisite acting and writing, finessing conceits that could've undone it. Heart of a Dog A– (Highlights/DocuFest; USA, dir. Laurie Anderson) - Griefs for dog, nation, parent, partner unpacked with warmth, lucidity, and weirdness. Not a funeral. A passageway. The Treasure A– (Main Competition; Romania, dir. Corneliu Porumboiu) - Comic gold, with an impressively ferrous structure of ironies and nuances that hold it together and expand its scope. Neon Bull A– (Main Competition; Brazil/Uruguay/Netherlands, dir. Gabriel Mascaro) - Disarming blend of muscle and tenderness, implying steady surges of violence and desire but refusing any standard route. The Assassin B+ (Highlight; Taiwan/China, dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien) - A royal marriage of many lines, sumptuous, as much Unforgiven as Scarlet Empress. Hou's hand still unsteady on story. Tikkun B+ (Main Competition; Israel, dir. Avishai Sivan) - I respected this film and enjoyed being pushed by it. Son's crisis of worldly curiosity. Father's miracle recast as ordeal. The Club B+ (Main Competition; Chile, dir. Pablo Larraín) - Ruthless parable of how mendacity and violence cling to their perpetrators but also infect victims and putative remedies. Body B+ (Main Competition; Poland, dir. Małgorzata Szumowska) - Szumowska keeps surprising! Imagine Roy Andersson inching toward narrative, his morbid surrealism limned with feminist irony. Henry Gamble's Birthday Party B+ (City & State/OutLook; USA, dir. Stephen Cone) - Cone gives the actors and the audience so much, but never too much. So quotidian, and so mysterious. In the Underground B+ (DocuFest; China, dir. Song Zhantao) - Frederick Wiseman meets The Wages of Fear, miles deep in a Chinese mine right out of H.R. Giger. Very sobering. Macbeth B+ (Highlights; UK/France, dir. Justin Kurzel) - Maybe not the rangiest vision of the play but a stark, grotty, and potent one. Fassbender's a lava pit, Cotillard a cobra. Under Electric Clouds B+ (Spotlight: Architecture; Russia/Ukraine, dir. Aleksei German, Jr.) - I struggled with granular details but its spectral vision of Russia impresses—a fog of monoliths and nomads. XConfessions B+ (Highlight; Sweden/Spain, dir. Erika Lust) - Joyous anthology of feminist porn. Polished. Original. Randy. Nonexploitative. Good on the fest for programming this. In the Shadow of Women B+ (Highlight; France, dir. Philippe Garrel) - Tiny ficelle of a film takes witty stock of knotted infidelities. Neither one-sided nor free of judgment. Cemetery of Splendor B (World Cinema; Thailand, dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul) - Reader, I must confess I'm starting to find Weerasethakul tedious, as much as I admire his directorial craft. James White B (U.S. Indies; USA, dir. Josh Mond) - Aka James Gray, but even more so, and hotter at the edges. At times, flamboyantly dialed up. At others, heart-piercing. My Golden Days B (Main Competition; France, dir. Arnaud Desplechin) - I'm where I always am with Desplechin: I admire all his empathy and craft but just don't feel swept up. Cold awe. A Very Ordinary Citizen B (Main Competition; Iran, dir. Majid Barzegar) - Co-written by Jafar Panahi, a unique melange of contemporary realism, sad comedy, and heightened surprise. Eisenstein in Guanajuato B (OutLook; Netherlands/Mexico/Finland/Belgium/France, dir. Peter Greeanway) - Pretty silly, but punch-drunk Greenaway is as engaging as he is unexpected. Requires generosity, but fun. Schneider vs. Bax B (Main Competition; Netherlands, dir. Alex van Warmerdam) - Another 18th-century comedy about 21st-century mercenaries. Merrily morbid, somewhat for its own sake. Thin look. Mustang B (World Cinema; Turkey/Germany/France, dir. Deniz Gamze Ergüven) - Makes you crave a looser, freer world for these girls; then again, you wish the movie itself were more supple and finessed. The Red Spider B (New Directors Competition; Poland/Czech Republic, dir. Marcin Koszałka) - Hardly unmissable, given perpetual surfeit of serial killer dramas, but a taut, pointed study of mid-century Krakow. Underground Fragrance B (New Directors Competition/Spotlight Architecture; China/France, dir. Pengfei) - No points for sniffing out a Tsai Ming-Liang prot?g?, but this tale of ephemeral encounter has its own voice. Mountains May Depart B– (Main Competition; China, dir. Jia Zhangke) - Hi, I'd like a Hong Sang-soo, a Stella Dallas, a Notes on a Scandal (iced), and a small side of Drrrainage?! Dégradé B– (World Cinema; Palestine/France, dirs. Tarzan Nasser & Arab Nasser) - Entrapment, suffocation are topics, occasionally effects of one-set suspenser in Gaza salon. Bold vision. Hang in there. Radical Grace B– (City & State/DocuFest/U.S. Indies; USA, dir. Rebecca Parrish) - Loving, principled, mobilizing record of US nuns bravely demanding secular justice. Modest technique, but inspiring. Room B– (Surprise Film; USA/Canada, dir. Lenny Abrahamson) - Contrivances abound; only some redeemed as ideas. Subtleties, semaphores duke it out. Messy transition. Larson works hard. A Childhood C+ (Main Competition; France, dir. Philippe Claudel) - Some poignant observations. Several others feel overemphatic. Basically familiar tale needed lighter director's touch. Looking for Grace C+ (Main Competition; Australia, dir. Sue Brooks) - Tonally odd. At early best, augurs Short Cuts. Often settles for Safety of Objects. Then its shaky, nervy twist. Anomalisa C+ (Special Presentations; USA, dirs. Duke Johnson & Charlie Kaufman) - Could summon no enthusiasm. The self-pity of Kaufman's men is usually ballasted by much more creative detail or insight. Girls Lost C+ (World Cinema; Sweden, dir. Alexandra-Therese Keining) - A century after Florida Enchantment, we're still using magic-beans device for transgender tale. Shaky on its own themes. Embers C+ (New Directors Competition; USA, dir. Claire Carré) - Mood, milieu strongest parts. Direction a bit too blatant, script a bit too tentative for my taste, but keep eyes on Carré. Youth C (Highlights; Italy/Switzerland, dir. Paolo Sorrentino) - Frequently risible, occasionally tasteless, but across the whole, the blend of the epicurean and inchoate can be compelling. Mia Madre C– (Opening Night; Italy, dir. Nanni Moretti) - An interesting, quiet mother-daughter dynamic slowly emerges, but hampered by listless storytelling and broad pandering. We Are Francesco C– (World Cinema; Italy, dir. Guendalina Zampagni) - Sunny comedy about not intruding into a disabled man's sex life that blithely intrudes into—yep, you guessed it. Where to Invade Next D (Documentary/Special Presentations; USA, dir. Michael Moore) - And whom to stereotype next? In its avowed favoring of hammers over scalpels, beats social analysis to a pulp. Lineups in the Main Feature Programs: Listed alphabetically within sections; more on this year's lineup at the CIFF page (opens in a new window)   Main Competition: Full list of entries 45 Years A–, UK, dir. Andrew Haigh Body B+, Poland, dir. Małgorzata Szumowska A Childhood C+, France, dir. Philippe Claudel Chronic, Mexico/France, dir. Michel Franco The Club B+, Chile, dir. Pablo Larraín Full Contact, Netherlands/Croatia, dir. David Verbeek Looking for Grace C+, Australia, dir. Sue Brooks Mountains May Depart B–, China, dir. Jia Zhangke My Golden Days B, France, dir. Arnaud Desplechin Neon Bull A–, Brazil/Uruguay, dir. Gabriel Mascaro Paulina, Argentina/Brazil, dir. Santiago Mitre Schneider vs. Bax B, Netherlands, dir. Alex van Warmerdam Sweet Bean, Japan, dir. Naomi Kawase Tikkun B+, Israel, dir. Avishai Sivan The Treasure A–, Romania, dir. Corneliu Porumboiu A Very Ordinary Citizen B, Iran, dir. Majid Barzegar New Directors Competition: Full list of entries Embers C+, USA, dir. Claire Carré Hector, UK, dir. Jake Gavin The Here After, Poland/Sweden, dir. Magnus von Horn The Homecoming, Iceland, dir. Bjørn Hlynur Haraldsson Magallanes, Peru/Argentina, dir. Salvador del Solar The Middle Distance, USA, dir. Patrick Underwood Nahid, Iran, dir. Ida Panahandeh Orphans of Eldorado, Brazil, dir. Guilherme Coelho The Red Spider B, Poland, dir. Marcin Koszałka Road to La Paz, Argentina, dir. Francisco Varone Sparrows, Iceland/Denmark, dir. Rúnar $únarsson The Thin Yellow Line, Mexico, dir. Celso García Underground Fragrance B, China/France, dir. Pengfei Song Special Presentations: Full list of entries The 33, USA/Chile, dir. Patricia Riggen Anomalisa C+, USA, dirs. Duke Johnson & Spike Jonze Carol A, USA, dir. Todd Haynes I Smile Back, USA, dir. Adam Salky Mia Madre C–, Italy, dir. Nanni Moretti (opening) Remember, Canada, dir. Atom Egoyan Room B–, USA/Canada, dir. Lenny Abrahamson (surprise) Spotlight, USA, dir. Tom McCarthy (closing) Where to Invade Next? D, USA, dir. Michael Moore Highlights: Full list of entries The Assassin B+, China/Taiwan, dir. Hou Hsiao-Hsien Brooklyn, UK/Ireland, dir. John Crowley Dheepan A–, France, dir. Jacques Audiard Heart of a Dog A–, USA, dir. Laurie Anderson Hitchcock/Truffaut, USA, dir. Kent Jones In the Shadow of Women B+, France, dir. Philippe Garrel Macbeth B+, UK/France, dir. Justin Kurzel A Perfect Day, Spain, dir. Fernando León de Aranoa Sherlock Holmes, USA, dir. Arthur Berthelet Son of Saul A, Hungary, dir. László Nemes XConfessions: A Conversation with Erika Lust B+, Sweden, dir. Erika Lust Youth C, Italy/Switzerland, dir. Paolo Sorrentino After Dark: Full list of entries † Out of competition The Abandoned, USA, dir. Eytan Rockaway Bite, Canada, dir. Chad Archibald Entertainment, USA, dir. Rick Alverson The Laundryman, Taiwan, dir. Chung Lee Ludo, India, dirs. Qaushiq Mukherjee and Nikon Other Madnesses, USA, dir. Jeremy Carr Tag, Japan, dir. Sion Sono They Look Like People, USA, dir. Perry Blackshear Black Perspectives: Full list of entries Adama, France, dir. Simon Rouby Cronies, USA, dir. Michael J. Larnell Cuckold, South Africa, dir. Charlie Vundla Danny and the Human Zoo, UK, dir. Destiny Ekaragha Syl Johnson: Any Way the Wind Blows, USA, dir. Robert Hatch-Miller Cinema of the Americas: Full list of entries The 33, USA/Chile, dir. Patricia Riggen 600 Miles, Mexico, dir. Gabriel Ripstein Absence, Brazil, dir. Chico Teixeira Carmín Tropical, Mexico, dir. Rigoberto Perezcano Clever, Uruguay, dirs. Federico Borgia & Guillermo Madeiro The Club B+, Chile, dir. Pablo Larraín The Companion, Panama, dir. Alvaro Delgado Aparicio Embrace of the Serpent, Colombia/Venezuela, dir. Ciro Guerra Hopefuls, Brazil, dir. Ives Rosenfeld How to Win Enemies, Argentina, dir. Gabriel Lichtmann Magallanes, Peru/Argentina, dir. Salvador del Solar A Monster with a Thousand Heads, Mexico, dir. Rodrigo Plá Neon Bull A–, Brazil/Uruguay, dir. Gabriel Mascaro Obra, Brazil, dir. Gregorio Graziosi Orphans of Eldorado, Brazil, dir. Guilherme Coelho Paulina, Argentina/Brazil, dir. Santiago Mitre Road to La Paz, Argentina, dir. Francisco Varone The Thin Yellow Line, Mexico, dir. Celso García Time Suspended, Mexico/Argentina, dir. Natalia Bruschtein To My Beloved, Brazil, dir. Aly Muritiba Walking Distance, Mexico, dir. Alejandro Guzmán Alvarez City & State: Full list of entries Breakfast at Ina's, USA, dir. Mercedes Kane Cash Only, USA, dir. Malik Bader For Grace, USA, dirs. Kevin Pang and Mark Helenowski Henry Gamble's Birthday Party B+, USA, dir. Stephen Cone A Light Beneath Their Feet, USA, dir. Valerie Weiss The Middle Distance, USA, dir. Patrick Underwood Open Tables, USA, dir. Jack C. Newell Radical Grace B–, USA, dir. Rebecca Parrish Syl Johnson: Any Way the Wind Blows, USA, dir. Robert Hatch-Miller Docufest (Competition): Full list of entries Banana Pancakes and..., Netherlands, dir. Daan Veldhuizen Call Me Marianna, Poland, dir. Karolina Bielawska The Closer We Get, Scotland/UK, dir. Karen Guthrie In the Underground B+, China, dir. Song Zhantao The Living Fire, Ukraine, dir. Ostap Kostyuk Motley's Law, Denmark, dir. Nicole Horanyi Syl Johnson: Any Way the Wind Blows, USA, dir. Robert Hatch-Miller Time Suspended, Mexico/Argentina, dir. Natalia Bruschtein Tough Love, Germany, dir. Rosa von Praunheim Volta à Terra, Portugal, dir. João Pedro Plácido Docufest (Out of Competition): Full list of entries The Birth of Saké, USA/Japan, dir. Erik Shirai Breakfast at Ina's, USA, dir. Mercedes Kane Concrete Love: The Böhm Family, Germany/Switzerland, dir. Maurizius Staerkle-Drux Double Happiness, Austria, dir. Ella Raidel For Grace, USA, dirs. Kevin Pang and Mark Helenowski Heart of a Dog A–, USA, dir. Laurie Anderson Hitchcock/Truffaut, USA, dir. Kent Jones Illegal Portraits, Italy, dir. Romano Montesarchio In Jackson Heights A–, USA, dir. Frederick Wiseman The Infinite Happiness, France/Denmark, dirs. Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine Invention, Canada/France, dir. Mark Lewis Milano 2015, Italy, dir. Miscellaneous Modern Metropolis: Midcentury Chicago on Film, USA, dir. Miscellaneous Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict, USA, dir. Lisa Immordino Vreeland Radical Grace B–, USA, dir. Rebecca Parrish Very Semi-Serious, USA, dir. Leah Wolchok Where to Invade Next D, USA, dir. Michael Moore Why a Film About Michele De Lucchi?, Italy, dir. Alessio Bozzer Women He's Undressed, Australia, dir. Gillian Armstrong OutLook: Full list of entries Absence, Brazil, dir. Chico Teixeira Barash, Israel, dir. Michal Vinik Big Father, Small Father, and Other Stories, Vietnam/France, dir. Phan Dang Di Call Me Marianna, Poland, dir. Karolina Bielawska Carmín Tropical, Mexico, dir. Rigoberto Perezcano Carol A, USA, dir. Todd Haynes Eisenstein in Guanajuato B, Netherlands/Mexico, dir. Peter Greenaway Front Cover, USA, dir. Ray Yeung Girls Lost C+, Sweden, dir. Alexandra-Therese Keining Henry Gamble's Birthday Party B+, USA, dir. Stephen Cone I Am Michael, USA, dir. Justin Kelly Sworn Virgin, Italy/Albania, dir. Laura Bispuri Women He's Undressed, Australia, dir. Gillian Armstrong Spotlight: Architecture: Full list of entries Concrete Love: The Böhm Family, Germany/Switzerland, dir. Maurizius Staerkle-Drux Double Happiness, Austria, dir. Ella Raidel Greater Things, UK/Japan, dir. Vahid Hakimzadeh Illegal Portraits, Italy, dir. Romano Montesarchio The Infinite Happiness, France/Denmark, dirs. Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine Invention, Canada/France, dir. Mark Lewis Milano 2015, Italy, dir. Miscellaneous Modern Metropolis: Midcentury Chicago on Film, USA, dir. Miscellaneous Obra, Brazil, dir. Gregorio Graziosi Under Electric Clouds B+, Russia/Ukraine, dir. Aleksei German, Jr. Underground Fragrance B, China/France, dir. Pengfei Song Why a Film About Michele De Lucchi?, Italy, dir. Alessio Bozzer U.S. Indies: Beyond films listed above Creative Control, USA, dir. Benjamin Dickinson James White B, USA, dir. Josh Mond Stinking Heaven, USA, dir. Nathan Silver World Cinema: Beyond films listed above All About Them, France, dir. Jérôme Bonnell The Ardennes, Belgium, dir. Robin Pront As We Were Dreaming, Germany, dir. Andreas Dresen L'Astragale, France, dir. Brigitte Sy Cemetery of Splendor B, Thailand, dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul The Dark Horse, New Zealand, dir. James Napier Robertson Dégradé B–, Palestine, dir. Tarzan Nasser & Arab Nasser The Emperor in August, Japan, dir. Masato Harada From A to B, United Arab Emirates, dir. Ali F. Mostafa Homesick, Austria/Germany, dir. Jakob M. Erwa Just Jim, UK/USA, dir. Craig Roberts Kakekomi, Japan, dir. Masato Harada Mustang B, Turkey/Germany, dir. Deniz Gamze Ergüven My Life with a King, Philippines, dir. Carlo Enciso Catu Rams, Iceland, dir. Grímur Hákonarson Song of Songs, Ukraine, dir. Eva Neymann The Surprise, Netherlands, dir. Mike Van Diem Three Days in September, Macedonia/Kosovo, dir. Darijan Pejovski Umrika, India, dir. Prashant Nair Valley of Love, France, dir. Guillaume Nicloux We Are Francesco C–, Italy, dir. Guendalina Zampagni We Monsters, Germany, dir. Sebastian Ko Why Me?, Romania/Bulgaria, dir. Tudor Giurgiu You Can't Save Yourself Alone, Italy, dir. 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