The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the composite eyes of early film actresses Theda Bara, Pola Negri and Mae Murray, set as repeated frames in a strip of film. In 2010, the 46th Chicago International Film Festival presented 150 films from more than 50 countries. The Festival's program is composed of many different sections, including the International Competition, New Directors Competition, Docufest, Black Perspectives, Cinema of the Americas, and Reel Women. Its main venue is the AMC River East 21 Theatre in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago. International Connections Program The International Connections Program was created in 2003 in order to raise awareness of the international film culture and diversity of Chicago, and to make the festival more appealing to audience and staff of various ethnicities. Foreign films are screened for free throughout the city weekly from July through September. Awards Winners are awarded Hugo Awards in eight different competition categories. International Feature Film Competition Gold Hugo Silver Hugo: Jury Prize Silver Hugo: Best Director Silver Hugo: Best Actor (until 2019) Silver Hugo: Best Actress (until 2019) Silver Hugo: Best Performance (from 2020) Silver Hugo: Best Ensemble Performance Silver Hugo: Best Cinematography Silver Hugo: Best Screenplay Silver Hugo: Best Sound Silver Hugo: Best Art Direction New Directors Competition International Documentary Competition Out-Look Competition City & State Competition Chicago Award Live Action Short Film Competition Documentary Short Film Competition Animated Short Film Competition Gold Hugo Silver Hugo Jury Award 2022 – Close, dir. Lukas Dhont (Belgium) 2021 – Drive My Car, dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Japan) 2020 – Careless Crime, dir. Shahram Mokri (Iran) 2019 – Vitalina Varela, dir. Pedro Costa (Portugal) Best Director 2022 – Maryam Touzani (Morocco) for The Blue Caftan 2021 – Peter Kerekes (Slovakia) for 107 Mothers 2020 – Andrei Konchalovsky (Russia) for Dear Comrades! 2019 – Maya Da-Rin (Brazil) for The Fever Best Actor 2021 – Bouli Lanners (Belgium) for Nobody Has to Know 2019 – Bartosz Bielenia (Poland) for Corpus Christi 2018 – Jesper Christensen (Denmark) for Before the Frost 2017 – Aleksandr Yatsenko (Russia) for Arrhythmia 2016 – Adrian Titieni (Romania) for Graduation 2015 – Alexi Mathieu and Jules Gauzelin (France) for A Childhood 2014 – Anton Yelchin (USA) for Rudderless