CHICAGO, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- The Chicago International Film Festival ends this week, with the award for Best Film going to Iranian director Asghar Farhadi's "Fireworks Wednesday."
Michael Kutza, founder and artistic director of the festival, announced the winners for this year at the Feature Film Competitions. Farhadi was awarded The Gold Hugo Award for Best film because of the creative energy and compelling humanity of "Fireworks Wednesday."
The Silver Hugo Special Jury Prize was awarded to Rachid Bouchareb (France/Algeria) for the classic war film "Days of Glory." The Silver Hugo Award went to Hungarian director Gyorgy Palfi's "Taxidermia."
The Gold Hugo for Best Documentary went to "Iraq in Fragments" by director James Longley, and the Gold Hugo for the Short Film Competition went to "Forgetting Betty" by directors James Anderson and Robert Postrozny.
The Chicago International Film Festival, now in its 42nd year, is the oldest competitive film festival in North America.
