By George & Josh Bate
The Chicago Indie Critics have announced their winners for the annual Windie Awards, and The Substance came away the big winner with seven awards. Voting members of the critics group, of which we are a part of, completed ballots to select Windie nominations in 27 categories. The breakout body-horror phenomenon The Substance led the pack with a whopping seven total Windie Awards, while an impressive five-way tie saw three wins each for The Brutalist, Dune: Part Two, Nosferatu, Sing Sing, and The Wild Robot.
Below are the winners of the 2025 Windie Awards from Chicago Indie Critics!
BEST INDEPENDENT FILM
Anora
Producers: Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, and Sean Baker
The Brutalist
Producers: Nick Gordon, D.J. Gugenheim, Andrew Lauren, Trevor Matthews, Andrew Morrison, and Brian Young
I Saw the TV Glow
Producers: Sam Intili, Sarah Winshall, Emma Stone, Dave McCary, and Ali Herting
Sing Sing
Producers: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, and Monique Walton
WINNER: The Substance
Producers: Coralie Fargeat, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner
BEST STUDIO FILM
Challengers
Producers: Amy Pascal, Luca Guadagnino, Zendaya, and Rachel O’Connor
A Complete Unknown
Producers: Fred Berger, James Mangold, Alex Heineman, Bob Bookman, Peter Jaysen, Alan Gasmer, Jeff Rosen, and Timothée Chalamet
WINNER: Dune: Part Two
Producers: Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe, and Denis Villeneuve
Nosferatu
Producers: Chris Columbus, Eleanor Columbus, and Robert Eggers
Wicked
Producers: Marc Platt and David Stone
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
All We Imagine as Light
Producers: Julien Graff and Thomas Hakim,
Emilia Perez
Producers: Pascal Caucheteux, Jacques Audiard, and Valérie Schermann
WINNER: Flow
Producers: Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens, and Gregory Zalcman
Kneecap
Producers: Jack Tarling and Trevor Birney
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Producers: Mohammad Rasoulof, Rozita Hendijanian, Amin Sadraei, Jean-Christophe Simon, Mani Tilgner
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
Daughters
Director and Producers: Angela Patton, Natalie Rae
Music by John Williams
Director and Producers: Laurent Bouzereau, Sara Bernstein, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Meredith Kaulfers, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Steven Spielberg, and Justin Wilkes
Sugarcane
Director and Producers: Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie
WINNER: Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Director and Producers: Robert Ford, Lizzie Gillett, Ian Bonhôte, Connor Schell, and Libby Geist
Will & Harper
Director and Producers: Josh Greenbaum, Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, Chris Leggett, and Rafael Marmor
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Flow
Director and Producers: Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens, and Gregory Zalcman
Inside Out 2
Director and Producer: Kelsey Mann and Mark Nielsen
Memoir of a Snail
Director and Producers: Adam Elliot and Liz Kearney
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Director and Producer: Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham
WINNER: The Wild Robot
Director and Producer: Chris Sanders and Jeff Hermann
BEST DIRECTOR
Sean Baker – Anora
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
WINNER: Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold
I Saw the TV Glow – Jane Schoenbrun
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
WINNER: The Substance – Coralie Fargeat
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Conclave – Peter Straughan
Dune: Part Two – Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts
WINNER: Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes
Sing Sing – Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, and John “Divine G” Whitfield
The Wild Robot – Chris Sanders
BEST ACTOR
WINNER: Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothee Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Hugh Grant – Heretic
Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice
BEST ACTRESS
Amy Adams – Nightbitch
Lily-Rose Depp – Nosferatu
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
Angelina Jolie – Maria
Mikey Madison – Anora
WINNER: Demi Moore – The Substance
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
WINNER (tie): Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
WINNER (tie): Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Bill Skarsgård – Nosferatu
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Nickel Boys
Ariana Grande-Butera – Wicked
WINNER: Margaret Qualley – The Substance
Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez
BEST ENSEMBLE
Conclave
Casting Directors: Nina Gold and Martin Ware
Dune: Part Two
Casting Directors: Francine Maisler and Dixie Chassney
Saturday Night
Casting Director: John Papsidera
WINNER: Sing Sing
Casting Director: Greg Kwedar
Wicked
Casting Director: Tiffany Little Canfield and Bernard Telsey
BEST BREAKOUT PERFORMER
Yuriy Borisov – Anora
Vera Drew – The People’s Joker
Willa Fitzgerald – Strange Darling
WINNER: Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Adam Pearson – A Different Man
Aaron Pierre – Rebel Ridge
BEST BREAKOUT ARTIST
Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist
Kris Bowers- The Wild Robot
WINNER: Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
Dev Patel – Monkey Man
RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
SIGHT UNSEEN PERFORMANCE
Daveed Diggs – Nickel Boys
Maya Hawke – Inside Out 2
WINNER: Lupita Nyong’o – The Wild Robot
Pedro Pascal – The Wild Robot
Sarah Snook – Memoirs of a Snail
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Brutalist – Lol Crawley
Civil War – Rob Hardy
Dune: Part Two – Greig Fraser
Nickel Boys – Jomo Fray
WINNER: Nosferatu – Jarin Blaschke
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
WINNER (tie): The Brutalist – Judy Becker
Conclave – Suzie Davies and Roberta Federico
WINNER (tie): Nosferatu – Craig Lathrop
The Substance – Stanislas Reydellet, Cécilia Blom
Wicked – Nathan Crowley
BEST EDITING
The Brutalist – Dávid Jancsó
WINNERS: Challengers – Marco Costa
Dune: Part Two – Joe Walker
Nickel Boys – Nicholas Monsour
Nosferatu – Louise Ford
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Conclave – Lisy Christl
Dune: Part Two – Jacqueline West
WINNER: Nosferatu – Linda Muir
The Substance – Emmanuelle Youchnovski
Wicked – Paul Tazewell
BEST MAKEUP
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – Christine Blundell, Lesa Warrener, and Neal Scanlan
A Different Man – Mike Marino, Sarah Graalman, and Aaron Saucier
Nosferatu – Traci Loader, Suzanne Stokes-Munton, and David White
WINNER: The Substance – Pierre-Olivier Persin
Wicked – Frances Hannon, Sarah Nuth, and Laura Blount
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Civil War – David Simpson, J.D. Schwalm, Chris Zeh, and Freddy Salazar
WINNER: Dune: Part Two – Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, and Gerd Nefzer
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes – Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story, and Rodney Burke
Nosferatu – Angela Barson
Twisters – Ben Snow, Florian Witzel, and Bill Georgiou
BEST STUNTS
Deadpool & Wolverine
Stunt Coordinator: Colin Follenweider and Liang Yang
Dune: Part Two
Stunt Coordinator: Roger Yuan
The Fall Guy
Stunt Coordinators: Keir Beck and Chris O’Hara
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Stunt Coordinators: Guy Norris and Tim Wong
WINNER: Monkey Man
Stunt Coordinator: Udeh Nans
BEST SOUND
Civil War – Glenn Freemantle
WINNER: Dune: Part Two – Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett, and Doug Hemphill
Nosferatu – Robin Carolan
The Substance – Valérie Deloof and Victor Fleurant
The Wild Robot – Randy Thom, Gary A. Rizzo, Leff Lefferts, and Brian Chumney
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Brutalist – Daniel Blumberg
Challengers – Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor
Nosferatu – Robin Carolan
The Substance – Benjamin “Rafferie” Stefanski
WINNER: The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Beautiful That Way” – The Last Showgirl
Songwriters: Andrew Wyatt, Lykke Li, and Miley Cyrus
WINNER: “Compress/Repress” – Challengers
Songwriters: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Luca Guadagnino
“Kiss the Sky” – The Wild Robot
Songwriters: Delacey, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Maren Morris, Michael Pollack, and Ali Tamposi
“Like a Bird” – Sing Sing
Songwriters: Abraham Alexander, Brandon Marcel, and Adrian Quesada
“Starburned and Unkissed” – I Saw the TV Glow
Songwriter: Caroline Polachek
THE IMPACT AWARD
Given to individual or group who has made a positive impact on local Chicago cinema
Emma Greenleaf and Nick Edelberg – Facets Anime Club
WINNER: Kyle Cubr – Programmer, Music Box Theatre
Mimi Plauche – Artistic Director of the Cinema/Chicago
Morgan Harris – Acacia Consulting Group
Ramona Slick – Programmer, Music Box Theatre
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