Finishing their eighth year as a recognized awards-voting body and haven for film critics of diverse backgrounds and talents, the Chicago Indie Critics have announced the 2023 winners of their Windie Awards. The voting film critic members completed their final 25-category ballots this past week. The Chicago Indie Critics presented their 2023 Windie Award winners on the evening of January 20, 2024 at a private invitation-only Awards Party at Chicago Filmmakers on Hollywood Avenue in Chicago.
Leading all nominated films with seven total Windie Award wins is Oppenheimer, the dominant summer blockbuster directed by Christopher Nolan and released by Universal Pictures. Nolan himself was named for three awards: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and a producer on Best Studio Film. Oppenheimer also earned Windie Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Ensemble, and Best Supporting Actor for Robert Downey Jr.. Joining him in the acting categories, Paul Giamatti of The Holdovers and Emma Stone of Poor Things won lead acting awards while Da’Vine Joy Randolph won Best Supporting Actor for The Holdovers.
The next winningest films at the Windie Awards were three wins each for Past Lives, Poor Things, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The former earned Best Indie Film, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Breakout Artist for its writer-director Celine Song. The latter was bestowed the Windie Awards for Best Animated Feature, Best Original Score, and Best Sight Unseen Performance for Oscar Isaac. In other top categories, The Zone of Interest was named the Best Foreign Film and Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie was declared the Best Documentary of the year.
In a special category of local recognition, the Chicago Indie Critics annually presents The Impact Award. The distinction celebrates a group or person whose work during the past year or beyond had a positive influence on the Chicagoland film community. This year’s Impact Award winner is Dennis Scott, the beloved organist at Chicago’s famed Music Box Theatre. Mr. Scott was graciously present at Chicago Filmmakers to receive the Impact Award in person. The proud voting body of the Chicago Indie Critics congratulates Mr. Scott and all of the Windie Award winners.
2023 WINDIE AWARD WINNERS:
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BEST INDEPENDENT FILM
Past Lives
Producers: Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler, and David Hinojosa
BEST STUDIO FILM
Oppenheimer
Producers: Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven, and Emma Thomas
BEST FOREIGN FILM
The Zone of Interest
Producers: James Wilson and Ewa Puszczyńska
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
Producers: Davis Guggenheim, Annetta Marion, Jonathan King, and Will Cohen
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Producers: Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Avi Arad, Amy Pascal, and Christina Steinberg
BEST DIRECTOR
Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Past Lives – Celine Song
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan
BEST ACTOR
Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
BEST ACTRESS
Emma Stone, Poor Things
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
BEST ENSEMBLE
Oppenheimer
Casting director: John Papsidera
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Oppenheimer – Hoyte van Hoytema
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Barbie – Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer
BEST COSTUMES
Poor Things – Holly Waddington
BEST MAKEUP
Poor Things – Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier, and Josh Weston
BEST EDITING
Oppenheimer – Jennifer Lame
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Daniel Pemberton
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“I’m Just Ken” – Barbie
Written by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Godzilla Minus One – Kiyoko Shibuya and Takashi Yamazaki
BEST STUNTS
John Wick: Chapter 4 – Stephen Dunleavy, Scott Rogers, and Jeremy Marinas
BREAKOUT ARTIST
Celine Song
SIGHT UNSEEN PERFORMANCE
Oscar Isaac, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
IMPACT AWARD
Local award given to individuals who have made a positive impact on Chicago cinema
Dennis Scott – Music Box Theatre organist
