The Chicago Indie Critics are enjoying themselves by going by the Chicago "Indie" Critics, given that they've shown a distinct predilection for studio filmmaking in their 2021 award nominations. Naturally, The Power of the Dog leads the pack with nine nominations, but there are top category nominations too for movies such as Nine Days, The Harder They Fall, and - so help me - Spider-Man: No Way Home. Dividing your Best Film category into Independent and Studio fields makes sense, I guess, if you weren't inclined to nominate any independent cinema in the first place, which I'm not sure these critics were... Winners announced on the 8th of January.
Best Studio Film (budgets over $20 million)
THE HARDER THEY FALL
LICORICE PIZZA
THE POWER OF THE DOG
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
TICK, TICK...BOOM!
Best Independent Film (budgets under $20 million)
CODA
NINE DAYS
PIG
SPENCER
SUMMER OF SOUL (...OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)
Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson (LICORICE PIZZA)
Kenneth Branagh (BELFAST)
Jane Campion (THE POWER OF THE DOG)
Pablo Larrain (SPENCER)
Edson Oda (NINE DAYS)
Best Actress
Jessica Chastain (THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE)
Olivia Colman (THE LOST DAUGHTER)
Alana Haim (LICORICE PIZZA)
Emilia Jones (CODA)
Kristen Stewart (SPENCER)
Tessa Thompson (PASSING)
Best Actor
Nicolas Cage (PIG)
Benedict Cumberbatch (THE POWER OF THE DOG)
Andrew Garfield (TICK, TICK...BOOM!)
Will Smith (KING RICHARD)
Denzel Washington (THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH)
Best Supporting Actress
Ariana DeBose (WEST SIDE STORY)
Kirsten Dunst (THE POWER OF THE DOG)
Aunjanue Ellis (KING RICHARD)
Marlee Matlin (CODA)
Ruth Negga (PASSING)
Best Supporting Actor
Ben Affleck (THE LAST DUEL)
Colman Domingo (ZOLA)
Mike Faist (WEST SIDE STORY)
Troy Kotsur (CODA)
Kodi Smit-McPhee (THE POWER OF THE DOG)
Jeffrey Wright (THE FRENCH DISPATCH)
Best Original Screenplay
THE FRENCH DISPATCH (Wes Anderson)
A HERO (Asghar Farhadi)
LICORICE PIZZA (Paul Thomas Anderson)
NINE DAYS (Edson Oda)
PIG (Michael Sarnoski)
Best Adapted Screenplay
CODA (Sian Heder)
DRIVE MY CAR (Hamaguchi Ryusuke and Oe Takamasa)
PASSING (Rebecca Hall)
THE POWER OF THE DOG (Jane Campion)
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH (Joel Coen)
Best Cinematography
BELFAST
DUNE
THE GREEN KNIGHT
THE POWER OF THE DOG
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
Best Editing
DUNE
THE HARDER THEY FALL
NINE DAYS
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
WEST SIDE STORY
Best Production Design
DUNE
THE LAST DUEL
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
WEST SIDE STORY
Best Costume Design
CRUELLA
DUNE
THE GREEN KNIGHT
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
WEST SIDE STORY
Best Visual Effects
DUNE
FREE GUY
THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS
SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
Best Makeup
CRUELLA
DUNE
THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE
HOUSE OF GUCCI
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Best Musical Score
DUNE
ENCANTO
THE HARDER THEY FALL
THE POWER OF THE DOG
SPENCER
Best Original Song
"Be Alive" (KING RICHARD) "Guns Go Bang" (THE HARDER THEY FALL)
"Just Look Up" (DON'T LOOK UP)
"No Time to Die" (NO TIME TO DIE)
"So May We Start" (ANNETTE)
Best Ensemble Cast
BELFAST
CODA
THE FRENCH DISPATCH
THE HARDER THEY FALL
THE POWER OF THE DOG
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
Best Stunts
BLACK WIDOW
DUNE
THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS
NO TIME TO DIE
SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
Best Animated Film
ENCANTO
FLEE
LUCA
THE MITCHELLS VS THE MACHINES
RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON
Best Documentary
FLEE
THE RESCUE
ROADRUNNER: A FILM ABOUT ANTHONY BOURDAIN
THE SPARKS BROTHERS
SUMMER OF SOUL (...OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)
Best Foreign Language Film
BENEDETTA
DRIVE MY CAR
FLEE
A HERO
PARALLEL MOTHERS
Impact Award (given to a person whose work has had a positive impact on society)
Rebecca Fons, Director of Programming, Gene Siskel Film Center
Rebecca Hall
Ryan Oestreich, General Manager, Music Box Theatre
Steven Spielberg
Jill Wheeler, Director of Publicity and Promotions, Allied Global Marketing
Trailblazer Award (honours the work of an artist who truly pushes the boundaries of the medium in terms of form and content)
Paul Thomas Anderson
Rebecca Hall
Hamaguchi Ryusuke
Sian Heder
Lin-Manuel Miranda