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CHICAGO, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Romanian Oscar submission Sieranevada took top prizes at the 52nd Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) on Friday night.
The awards were presented at a reception and ceremony at the Festival's host venue, AMC River East.
Sieranevada, a Romanian drama, won the Gold Hugo for Best Film in the Festival's International Feature Competition. Director of the film, Cristi Puiu, received the Silver Hugo Best Director award.
"This film is an incredible cinematic achievement and fully immerses the audience in a family gathering and makes us aware of them not only on a personal level but also embodies the spirit of the times we live in," the juries announced.
Jury President Geraldine Chaplin presented the Festival's Jury Prize to Asghar Farhadi's "the Salesman," an Iranian film that focus on "the problems that arise from a case of sexual assault and the way an Arabic society deals with it."
Juho Kuosmanen from Finland won the Gold Hugo in the New Directors Competition for his film "the Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki," the film "mimics a vintage black-and-white," telling the story about a Finnish boxer, Olli Maki, fighting an undefeated American champion in the ring.
"Samuel in the Clouds", a joint production between Belgium and Netherlands, won the Gold Hugo for Best Documentary, which had its world premiere at the Festival.
Adrian Titien won Silver Hugo Best Actor for his performance in "Graduation", and Rebecca Hall won Silver Hugo Best Actress for her performance in "Christine".
Silver Plaque Best Screenplay went to Cristian Mungiu for "Graduation". Silver Plaque Best Cinematography went to Kacper Fertacz for "the Last Family", and Silver Plaque Best Art Direction went to Jagna Janicka for "the Last Family".
Michael Kutza, founder and artistic director of the Festival, presented the Founder's Award to director Andrei Konchalovsky for his "Paradise" (Germany/Russia).
Kutza said the film captures the spirit of the CIFF for its unique and innovative approach to the art of the moving image.
Other categories of awards included Roger Ebert Award, recognizing emerging talents, Q Hugo Awards and Short Film Awards.
The Festival will last until October 27.
