Chicago Critics Film Festival Announces 2023 Rotten Tomatoes Audience Award Winners, Exponential Festival Growth

Sold-out Centerpiece selection PAST LIVES named crowd favorite; festival marks biggest growth in ticket sales to date

(Chicago, IL) — The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA), the Chicago-area print, online and broadcast critics group that celebrates the art of film and film criticism, today announces the Rotten Tomatoes Audience Award winners following the 10th Chicago Critics Film Festival. Audiences selected Centerpiece feature presentation PAST LIVES as winner of the Rotten Tomatoes Audience Award for narrative features; the film screened to a sold-out crowd during the festival’s tenth edition at Chicago’s historic Music Box Theatre. 

Additionally, KOKOMO CITY, the story of four black trans sex workers as they confront the dichotomy between the black community and themselves, received the Rotten Tomatoes Audience Award for documentary, while the short films THRIVING: A DISSOCIATED REVERIE & TROY earned audience appreciation in that category.

The tenth edition of the festival also boasted the largest crowds to date, proving that filmgoers rely on the Chicago Critics Film Festival for a chance to celebrate the best new films premiering in Chicago. Special guests this year included filmmakers Matt Johnson (Opening Night selection BLACKBERRY); Laura Moss (BIRTH/REBIRTH); Clement Virgo (BROTHER); and more; filmmaker Celine Song was also in attendance for the sold-out screening of PAST LIVES.

The Chicago Critics Film Festival annually features a selection of acclaimed films chosen by members of the Chicago Film Critics Association,, a combination of recent festival favorites and as-yet-undistributed works from a variety of filmmakers, from established Oscar winners to talented newcomers. It is the only current example of a major film critics group that hosts its own festival. The next edition of the festival will return in May of 2024.