The Chicago Indie Critics (CIC) have announced their winners for the 2025 Windie Awards. Sinners cleaned up with 10 wins, including Best Studio Film, Best Director, and Best Actor. Frankenstein followed with three wins in the craft categories.
The full list of winners can be found below.
Best Independent Film
Train Dreams – Winner
Best Studio Film
Sinners – Winner
Best International Film
Sentimental Value – Winner
No Other Choice
The Secret Agent
Best Documentary
John Candy: I Like Me – Winner
Best Animated Film
KPop Demon Hunters – Winner
Looney Tunes: The Day the Earth Blew Up
Best Director
Ryan Coogler – Sinners – Winner
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Chloé Zhao – Hamnet
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein
Best Original Screenplay
Sinners – Winner
Sorry, Baby
Marty Supreme
Best Adapted Screenplay
One Battle After Another – Winner
Hamnet
Frankenstein
28 Years Later
Best Actor
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners – Winner
Timotheé Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Jesse Plemons – Bugonia
Best Actress
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet – Winner
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
Emma Stone – Bugonia
Best Supporting Actor
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another – Winner
Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Madigan – Weapons – Winner
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Hailee Steinfeld – Sinners
Odessa A’zion – Marty Supreme
Best Ensemble (Given to Casting Director)
Sinners – Winner
One Battle After Another
Marty Supreme
It Was Just an Accident
Best Breakout Performance
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another – Winner
Odessa A’zion – Marty Supreme
Miles Caton – Sinners
Jacobi Jupe – Hamnet
Best Breakout Artist (Behind the Camera)
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby – Winner
Client Bentley – Train Dreams
Scarlett Johansson – Eleanor the Great
Best Sight Unseen Performance
Oona Chaplin– Avatar: Fire and Ash – Winner
Will Patton – Train Dreams
Nick Offerman – The Life of Chuck
Jason Bateman – Zootopia 2
Best Cinematography
Sinners – Winner
One Battle After Another
Frankenstein
Train Dreams
Best Production Design
Frankenstein – Winner
Sinners
28 Years Later
Best Editing
Sinners – Winner
One Battle After Another
Marty Supreme
F1
Weapons
Best Costume Design
Frankenstein – Winner
Sinners
Wicked: For Good
Fantastic Four: First Steps
Best Makeup
Frankenstein – Winner
Sinners
28 Years Later
Weapons
Best Visual Effects
Avatar: Fire and Ash – Winner
Frankenstein
Sinners
F1
Superman
Best Stunts
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning – Winner
F1
One Battle After Another
Best Sound
Sinners – Winner
F1
28 Years Later
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Best Original Score
Sinners – Winner
One Battle After Another
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Best Original Song
“I Lied to You” – Sinners – Winner
“Golden” – KPop Demon Hunters
“Pale, Pale Moon” – Sinners
“Clothed by the Sun” – The Testament of Ann Lee
“Highest 2 Lowest” – Highest 2 Lowest
Impact Award
Given to the individual or group who has made a positive impact on local Chicago cinema
Michael Phillips – Film Critic – Winner
Elizabeth Arnott – Programmer, Music Box Theatre
Anna Pattison – Editor in Chief, Cinema Femme Magazine
Tyler Michael Balentine – Programmer, Music Box Theatre
Matthew C. Hoffman – Programmer, Pickwick Theatre
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Winners by the Numbers
10: Sinners
3: Frankenstein
2: Avatar: Fire and Ash, One Battle After Another1: Hamnet, John Candy: I Like Me, KPop Demon Hunters, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Update Courtesy of Adam Patla
Feature Image Credit to Warner Bros, from ‘Sinners’