# 60th Chicago International Film Festival

The 60th Chicago International Film Festival took place from October 16 to 27, 2024, in Chicago, United States. Malcolm Washington's directorial debut The Piano Lesson, adapted from August Wilson's 1987 play, served as the "Opening Night Film", while Robert Zemeckis' drama film Here, an adaptation of the graphic novel by Richard McGuire, was selected as the "Closing Night Film".
Festival events took place mainly around AMC NEWCITY 14, though other event venues throughout the city included the Music Box Theatre, the Gene Siskel Film Center, the Chicago History Museum, and the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago.

## Background

American director Malcolm Washington received the Breakthrough Award for his debut The Piano Lesson. Additionally, actor John David Washington, who stars in the film, received the Spotlight Award. Robert Zemeckis received the Founder's Legacy Award, which was presented during the Closing Night celebration. American director Marielle Heller received the Visionary Award for her comedy horror film Nightbitch, which was selected as the "Centerpiece Film".
Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda received the Career Achievement Award, with a retrospective program presented on October 18, dedicated to honor his filmography. American actor Mike Myers also received the Career Achievement Award, presented on October 19 during a special event titled "An Evening with Mike Myers" hosted by Dave Foley.

## Official Selection

The films selected for each section are as follows:

### Special Presentations

| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Opening Night ||||
| The Piano Lesson | The Piano Lesson | Malcolm Washington | United States |
| Centerpiece ||||
| Nightbitch | Nightbitch | Marielle Heller | United States |
| Closing Night ||||
| Here | Here | Robert Zemeckis | United States, United Kingdom |
| Special Presentations ||||
| Better Man | Better Man | Michael Gracey | Australia |
| Blitz | Blitz | Steve McQueen | United Kingdom |
| Conclave | Conclave | Edward Berger | United States, United Kingdom |
| Maria | Maria | Pablo Larraín | Italy, Germany, United States |
| A Real Pain | A Real Pain | Jesse Eisenberg | United States, Poland |
| The Room Next Door | The Room Next Door | Pedro Almodóvar | Spain |
| September 5 | September 5 | Tim Fehlbaum | Germany |

### International Competition

The following films compete for the Gold Hugo of the International Feature Film Competition:
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| All We Imagine as Light | ഭയായ് നിനച്ചതെല്ലാം | Payal Kapadia | France, India, Netherlands, Luxembourg |
| The End | The End | Joshua Oppenheimer | Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, United Kingdom |
| Grand Tour | Grand Tour | Miguel Gomes | Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, China |
| Harvest | Harvest | Athina Rachel Tsangari | United Kingdom, Germany, Greece, France, United States |
| On Becoming a Guinea Fowl | On Becoming a Guinea Fowl | Rungano Nyoni | Zambia, United Kingdom, Ireland |
| The Quiet Son | Jouer avec le feu | Delphine Coulin, Muriel Coulin | France |
| The Seed of the Sacred Fig | دانه‌ی انجیر معابد / Les Graines du figuier sauvage / Die Saat des heiligen Feigenbaums | Mohammad Rasoulof | Germany, Iran, France |
| The Sparrow in the Chimney | Der Spatz im Kamin | Ramon Zürcher | Switzerland |
| Suçuarana | Suçuarana | Clarissa Campolina, Sérgio Borges | Brazil |
| Super Happy Forever | Super Happy Forever | Kohei Igarashi | France, Japan |
| Transamazonia | Transamazonia | Pia Marais | France, Germany, Switzerland, Taiwan, Brazil |
| Vermiglio | Vermiglio | Maura Delpero | Italy, France, Belgium |
| When the Light Breaks | Ljósbrot | Rúnar Rúnarsson | Iceland, Netherlands, Croatia, France |

### New Directors

The following films compete for the Gold Hugo of the New Directors section:
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Cabo Negro | Cabo Negro | Abdellah Taïa | France, Morocco |
| Ghost Trail | Les Fantômes | Jonathan Millet | France, Germany, Belgium |
| Hanami | Hanami | Denise Fernandes | Switzerland, Portugal, Cape Verde |
| Happy Holidays | ينعاد عليكو | Scandar Copti | Palestine, Germany, France, Italy, Qatar |
| Listen to the Voices | Kouté vwa | Maxime Jean-Baptiste | Belgium, France, French Guiana |
| My Favourite Cake | کیک محبوب من | Maryam Moqadam, Behtash Sanaeeha | Iran, France, Sweden, Germany |
| Peacock | Peacock | Bernhard Wenger | Austria, Germany |
| Rita | Rita | Paz Vega | Spain |
| Toxic | Akiplėša | Saulė Bliuvaitė | Lithuania |
| Transplant | Transplant | Jason Park | United States |
| The Village Next to Paradise | The Village Next to Paradise | Mo Harawe | Austria, France, Germany, Somalia |
| Who Do I Belong To | ماء العين / Là d'où l'on vient | Meryam Joobeur | Tunisia, France, Canada |

### International Documentary Competition

The following films compete for the Gold Hugo of the International Documentary Competition:
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Apocalypse in the Tropics | Apocalipse nos Trópicos | Petra Costa | Brazil, United States, Denmark |
| Between Goodbyes | Between Goodbyes | Jota Mun | United States |
| The Brink of Dreams | The Brink of Dreams | Nada Riyadh Ayman El Amir | Egypt, France, Denmark, Qatar, Saudi Arabia |
| Dahomey | Dahomey | Mati Diop | France, Senegal, Benin |
| Desire Lines | Desire Lines | Jules Rosskam | United States |
| Ernest Cole: Lost and Found | Ernest Cole: Lost and Found | Raoul Peck | France |
| The Last Republican | The Last Republican | Steve Pink | United States |
| Life and Other Problems | Livet og andre problemer | Max Kestner | Denmark, United Kingdom, Sweden |
| The Light of Truth: Richard Hunt's Monument to Ida B. Wells | The Light of Truth: Richard Hunt's Monument to Ida B. Wells | Rana Segal | United States |
| Mistress Dispeller | Mistress Dispeller | Elizabeth Lo | China, United States |
| My Stolen Planet | Sayyareye dozdide shodeye man | Farahnaz Sharifi | Germany, Iran |
| No Other Land | No Other Land | Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor | Palestine, Norway |
| Once Upon a Time in Forest | Havumetsän lapset | Virpi Suutari | Finland |
| Pavements | Pavements | Alex Ross Perry | United States |
| A Photographic Memory | A Photographic Memory | Rachel Elizabeth Seed | United States |
| The Return of the Projectionist | Le Retour du projectionniste | Orkhan Aghazadeh | France, Germany |
| Save the Children (1973) | Save the Children (1973) | Stan Lathan | United States |
| Separated | Separated | Errol Morris | United States, Mexico |
| Slice of Life: The American Dream. In Former Pizza Huts. | Slice of Life: The American Dream. In Former Pizza Huts. | Matthew Salleh | United States |
| Time Passages | Time Passages | Kyle Henry | United States |
| Wellness Warrior | Wellness Warrior | Chaz Ebert | United States |
| Wishing on a Star | Wishing on a Star | Péter Kerekes | Italy, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Croatia |
| Zurawski v Texas | Zurawski v Texas | Maisie Crow, Abbie Perrault | United States, United Kingdom |

### Spotlight

| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| The Art of Joy | L'arte della gioia | Valeria Golino | Italy, United Kingdom |
| Bird | Bird | Andrea Arnold | United Kingdom, France |
| The Brutalist | The Brutalist | Brady Corbet | United Kingdom |
| By the Stream | 수유천 | Hong Sang-soo | South Korea |
| Caught by the Tides | 风流一代 | Jia Zhangke | China |
| Emilia Pérez | Emilia Pérez | Jacques Audiard | France |
| The Girl with the Needle | Pigen med nålen | Magnus von Horn | Denmark, Poland, Sweden |
| Hard Truths | Hard Truths | Mike Leigh | United Kingdom, Spain |
| I'm Still Here | Ainda Estou Aqui | Walter Salles | Brazil, France |
| It's Not Me | Cést pas moi | Leos Carax | France |
| La cocina | La cocina | Alonso Ruizpalacios | United States, Mexico |
| Misericordia | Miséricorde | Alain Guiraudie | France |
| Nickel Boys | Nickel Boys | RaMell Ross | United States |
| The Return | The Return | Uberto Pasolini | Italy, United Kingdom |
| Sicilian Letters | Iddu | Fabio Grassadonia, Antonio Piazza | Italy, France |
| Small Things Like These | Small Things Like These | Tim Mielants | Ireland, Belgium |
| Unstoppable | Unstoppable | William Goldenberg | United States |

### Snapshots

| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Alberta Number One | Alberta Number One | Alexander Carson | Canada |
| Alpha | Alpha | Jan-Willem van Ewijk | Netherlands, Slovenia, Switzerland |
| Armand | Armand | Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel | Norway, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden |
| The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire | The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire | Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich | United States |
| Bliss | Hemda | Shemi Zarhin | Israel |
| Color Book | Color Book | David Fortune | United States |
| Eephus | Eephus | Carson Lund | United States, France |
| Farik | Farik | Aslı Özge | Germany, Turkey, France |
| Flow | Straume | Gints Zilbalodis | Latvia, France, Belgium |
| The Kingdom | Le Royaume | Julien Colonna | France |
| The Knife | The Knife | Nnamdi Asomugha | United States |
| Memoir of a Snail | Memoir of a Snail | Adam Elliot | Australia |
| Okie | Okie | Kate Cobb | United States |
| The Other Way Around | Volveréis | Jonás Trueba | Spain, France |
| Pepe | Pepe | Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias | Dominican Republic, Namibia, Germany, France |
| Santosh | Santosh | Sandhya Suri | United Kingdom |
| The Time It Takes | Il tempo che ci vuole | Francesca Comencini | Italy, France |
| To a Land Unknown | To a Land Unknown | Mahdi Fleifel | United Kingdom, Palestine, France, Greece, Netherlands, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia |
| Turning Tables | Klandestin | Angelina Maccarone | Germany |
| We Were Dangerous | We Were Dangerous | Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu | New Zealand |

### Outlook

The following films compete for the Q Hugo Awards, for films with LGBTQ+ themes, some films competing for the award appear in other sections and are already listed in previous tables:
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Baby | Baby | Marcelo Caetano | Brazil, France, Netherlands |
| Four Mothers | Four Mothers | Darren Thornton | Ireland |
| My Sunshine | ぼくのお日さま | Hiroshi Okuyama | Japan, France |
| Thesis on a Domestication | Tesis sobre una domesticación | Javier Van de Couter | Argentina, Mexico |
| Three Kilometres to the End of the World | Trei kilometri până la capătul lumii | Emanuel Pârvu | Romania |
| Viet and Nam | Trong lòng đất | Minh Quý Trương | Vietnam |

### Shorts

The following short films compete for the Gold Hugo of the Shorts Competition:
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Animated Short Films ||||
| Alone | Alone | Alex Weight | Australia |
| Artist on the Go! | Artist on the Go! | Nathan William Frost | United States |
| As the Sun Goes Down | As the Sun Goes Down | Laurine Bocquet, Ilona Caucal, Inès Fechner, Jahnice Laurent, Sarah Robert, Emma Roussel, Kevin Vandenbeuck | France |
| Butterfly Kiss | Butterfly Kiss | Zohar Dvir | Germany, Israel |
| Dona Beatriz Ñsîmba Vita | Dona Beatriz Ñsîmba Vita | Catapreta | Brazil |
| Have I Swalowed Your Dreams | Have I Swalowed Your Dreams | Clara Chan | Canada |
| Hoofs on Skates | Hoofs on Skates | Ignas Meilūnas | Lithuania |
| Mû | Mû | Malin Neumann | Germany |
| On Hold | On Hold | Delia Hess | Switzerland |
| Plunge | Plunge | Ellie Land | United Kingdom |
| Reunion | Reunion | Shiqi Xiao | China |
| She and Her Good Vibration | She and Her Good Vibration | Olivia Griselda, Sarah Cheok | Singapore |
| Shellish | Coquille | Justine Aubert, Cassandra Bouton, Grégoire Callies, Maud Chesneau, Anna Danton, Loic Girault, Gatien Peyrude, Justine Raux | France |
| So Long Memories | So Long Memories | Ruihan Zhang, Wenzi Shan, Xingyi Chen | China |
| Super High: A Period Piece | Super High: A Period Piece | Bianca Lambert | United States |
| The Painting | Le tableau | Michèle Lemieux | Canada |
| This World Is a Soda Can We Are Shaking It | This World Is a Soda Can We Are Shaking It | Sera Mun | South Korea |
| Trigonometry’s Ultimate Method to Putting the Fun Back in Your Own Funeral | Trigonometry’s Ultimate Method to Putting the Fun Back in Your Own Funeral | April Aquino | United States |
| Wander to Wonder | Wander to Wonder | Nina Gantz | Netherlands, Belgium, France, United Kingdom |
| Yuck! | Beurk! | Loïc Espuche | France |
| Live-Action Short Films ||||
| About Time | About Time | Donald Conley | United States |
| Addiction | Addiction | Tzuhsuan Peng | Taiwan |
| Alone with You | Lewahdena | Tara Shehata | Egypt |
| Black Shadow | Negra sombra | María Salafranca | Cuba |
| Blind Sighted | Blind Sighted | Mitch Davila Armendano | United States |
| Body of Christ | Mi primera comunión | Ángel Villahermosa | Spain |
| Broken Flight | Broken Flight | Erika Valenciana, Mitchell Wenkus | United States |
| Chhaya | Chhaya | Sophiyaa Nayar | United States |
| Chomp | Chomp | Suki-Rose, Crickett Arrison | United States |
| Dadá | Dependências | Luisa Arraes | Brazil |
| Dark Matter | Dark Matter | Leo Berkeley | Australia |
| Day with a Dick | Day with a Dick | Kimberly Spohn | United States |
| Estranged Letter | Estranged Letter | Assia Boundaoui | United States |
| Faces | Faces | Blake Simon | United States |
| Fishbowl | Fishbowl | Isabel Perry, Adam Yates | United States |
| Free Lunch | Free Lunch | Samuel Laine | United States |
| Go in Peace | Al nan la paix | Jean Gaspa | France |
| Grace | Grace | Natalie Jasmine Harris | United States |
| Hazel (Dual) | Hazel (Dual) | Kevin Jerome Everson | United States |
| Hpneymoon | Hpneymoon | Alkis Papastathopoulos | Greece, France, Cyprus |
| I Can No Longer See | I Can No Longer See | Raine Yung | United States |
| I Was There, Part II | I Was There, Part II | Chi Jang Yin | United States, Japan |
| If the Sun Drowned Into an Ocean of Clouds | Et si le soleil plongeait dans l'océan des nues | Wissam Charaf | France, Lebanon |
| Kombucha! | Kombucha! | Jake Myers | United States |
| Lana | Lana | Laetitia Angba, Julie Redon Lissouba | Canada |
| Lumen | Lumen | Stéphanie Bélanger | Canada |
| Motorcycle Mary | Motorcycle Mary | Haley Watson | United States |
| My Senses Are All I Have to Offer | As minhas sensações são tudo o que tenho para oferecer | Isadora Neves Marques | Portugal |
| O | O | Rúnar Rúnarsson | Iceland, Sweden |
| Passarinho | Passarinho | Natalia García Agraz | Mexico |
| perfectly a strangeness | perfectly a strangeness | Alison McAlpine | Canada, Chile |
| Resonancia | Resonancia | James Choi | Mexico |
| Saving Superman | Saving Superman | Adam Oppenheim, Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian | United States |
| She Stays | Ella se queda | Marinthia Gutiérrez | Mexico |
| Song of Love and Hate | Song of Love and Hate | Saurav Ghimire | Nepal, Belgium |
| Space Coast | Space Coast | Caroline Bates | United States |
| Space Plug | Space Plug | Marcus Anthony Thomas | United Kingdom |
| Stero | Stero | Tevin Kimathi, Millan Tarus | Kenya |
| Teen Girl Fantasy | Teen Girl Fantasy | Marisa Hoicka | Canada |
| Terminally III | Terminally III | Chris Cole | United States |
| The Damp Season | The Damp Season | Olivia Huilin Gao | United States |
| The Museum | The Museum | Annette Elliot | United States |
| To Exist Under Permanent Suspicion | To Exist Under Permanent Suspicion | Valentin Noujaïm | France |
| Too Much Sand | Too Much Sand | Rosso Pérez Bueno | Sweden |
| Transylvanie | Transylvanie | Rodrigue Huart | France |
| Trying | Estamos tentando | Guilherme Gomes, Julia Conatti | Brazil |
| Vox Humana | Vox Humana | Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan | Philippines, United States, Singapore |
| We Are Not Alone | We Are Not Alone | Adebukola Bodunrin | Canada, United States |
| Where the Mountain Women Sing | Where the Mountain Women Sing | Juefang Zhang | Hong Kong, Taiwan, United States |
| Winter Portrait | Winter Portrait | Fernando Saldivia Yáñez | United States |
| You Cant Get What You Want But You Can Get Me | You Cant Get What You Want But You Can Get Me | Samira Elagoz, Z Walsh | Netherlands, Finland, Germany, United States |

### After Dark

| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Cloud | クラウド | Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Japan |
| Fréwaka | Fréwaka | Aislinn Clarke | Ireland |
| Grafted | Grafted | Sasha Rainbow | New Zealand |
| Párvulos | Párvulos | Isaac Ezban | Mexico |
| The Rule of Jenny Pen | The Rule of Jenny Pen | James Ashcroft | New Zealand |
| Vulcanizadora | Vulcanizadora | Joel Potrykus | United States |

### Comedy

| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Long Good Thursday | Mielensäpahoittajan rakkaustarina | Mika Kaurismäki | Finland |
| The Missile | Ohjus | Miia Tervo | Finland, Estonia |
| Silent Trilogy | Mykkätrilogia | Juho Kuosmanen | Finland |
| Two to One | Zwei Zu Eins | Natja Brunckhorst | Germany |
| Universal Language | Une langue universelle / آواز بوقلمون | Matthew Rankin | Canada |

### Retrospective

| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production countrie(s) |
| Compensation (1999) | Compensation (1999) | Zeinabu Irene Davis | United States |
| The Man Without a Past (2002) | Mies vailla menneisyyttä | Aki Kaurismäki | Finland |
| The Package (1989) | The Package (1989) | Andrew Davis | United States |
| The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973) | The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973) | Sam Greenlee | United States |
| Toni Erdmann (2016) | Toni Erdmann (2016) | Maren Ade | Germany |
| Retrospective: Hirokazu Kore-eda ||||
| After Life (1998) | ワンダフルライフ | Hirokazu Kore-eda | Japan |
| After the Storm (2016) | 海よりもまだ深く | Hirokazu Kore-eda | Japan |
| Broker (2022) | 브로커 | Hirokazu Kore-eda | South Korea |
| Like Father, Like Son (2013) | そして父になる | Hirokazu Kore-eda | Japan |
| Nobody Knows (2004) | 誰も知らない | Hirokazu Kore-eda | Japan |
| Shoplifters (2018) | 万引き家族 | Hirokazu Kore-eda | Japan |

## Official awards

The following awards were presented for films shown in International Competition:
* Gold Hugo: Vermiglio by Maura Delpero
* Silver Hugo, Jury Award: All We Imagine as Light by Payal Kapadia
* Silver Hugo, Best Director: Miguel Gomes for Grand Tour
* Silver Hugo, Best Actor: Benjamin Voisin for The Quiet Son
* Silver Hugo, Best Actress: Elín Hall for When the Light Breaks
* Silver Hugo, Best Screenplay: Mohammad Rasoulof for The Seed of the Sacred Fig
* Silver Hugo, Best Editing: Telmo Churro and Pedro Filipe Marques for Grand Tour
* Special Mention: Ensemble Performance for On Becoming a Guinea Fowl