Awards
Each year, the Common Good International Film Festival has audience members vote for their favorite feature film. In addition to the audience discussions following each film, a special jury (comprised of the Faith & Film Class which is held in conjunction with the Festival) deliberates to determine which film best meets the selection criteria:
- The film shall exhibit artistic excellence in screenplay, music, and filming technique.
- The film shall promote the common good, which is defined as a society in which persons and communities care for one another’s well-being.
- The film shall exhibit sensitivity to the human situation, promoting the dignity of all.
- As appropriate to the film’s subject matter, the film shall foster ecological responsibility.
- The film shall cultivate a realistic hope of creative transformation.
Congratulations to our 2020 Award Winners!
- Whitehead Award for Best Feature Film
- Binti (Belgium, Netherlands) Director Frederike Migom
- Audience Award for Feature Film
- One Last Deal (Finland) Director Klaus Härö
- Award for Best Short Film
- I Am Skylar (Canada) Director Rachel Bower
Previous Award Winners
2019 Awards
- Whitehead Award for Best Feature Film
- Nosotros (Spain) Director Felipe Vara de Rey
- Audience Award for Feature Film
- Close Knit (Japan) Director Naoko Ogigami
- Special Award for Artistic Excellence
- Loving Vincent (Poland/United States) Directors Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman
- Special Award for Ecological Responsibility
- Dreaming of a Vetter World (United States) Director Bonnie Hawthorne
2018 Awards
- Whitehead Award for Best Feature Film
- The Dark Horse (New Zealand) Director James Napier Robertson
- Audience Award for Feature Film
- My Love, Don’t Cross That River (South Korea) Director Mo-young Jin
- Honorable Mention (Jury Award)
- The Breadwinner (Ireland) Director Nora Twomey
2017 Awards
- Jury Award for Whitehead Award for Outstanding Achievement: VIVA (2015) Cuba, Director Paddy Breathnach
- Jury Award Whitehead Award for Best Feature Film: VIVA (2015) Cuba, Director Paddy Breathnach
- Millennial Jury Award Whitehead Award for Best Feature Film VIVA (2015) Cuba, Director Paddy Breathnach
- Audience Award VIVA (2015) Cuba, Director Paddy Breathnach
2016 Awards
- Jury Award for Whitehead Award for Outstanding Achievement: Everywhere and Forever: Gustav Mahler’s Song of the Earth (2013) United States, Director Jason Starr
- Jury Award Whitehead Award for Best Feature Film: Marie’s Story (2014) France, Director Jean-Pierre Améris
- Audience Award: Marie’s Story (2014) France, Director Jean-Pierre Améris
2015 Awards
- Jury Award: Corazon de Leon (2013) Director
- Audience Award:
2014 Awards
- Jury Award: Shun Li and the Poet (2011), Italy, Director Andrea Segre
- Audience Award: Touch of the Light (2012), Taiwan, Director Jung-chi Chang
- Audience Award: English -Vinglish (2012), India, Director Gauri Shinde
2013 Awards
- Jury Award: Your Beauty is Worth Nothing (2012), Austria, Director Huseyin Tabak
- Audience Award: Dearest (2012), Japan. Director Yasuo Furuhata
- Audience Award: Almanya (2011), Germany. Director Yasemin Samdereli
2012 Awards
- Jury Award: Gold and Copper (2011), Iran. Director Homayoun Assadian
- Best Documentary: Crime After Crime (2011), USA. Director Yoav Potash
2011 Jury Award
- Troubled Water (2008), Norway. Director Erik Poppe
2010 Jury Award
- Departures (2008), Japan. Director Yojiro Takita
2009 Jury Award
- The Visitor (2007), USA. Director Thomas McCarthy
2008 Jury Award
- Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (2005), Hong Kong/China/Japan. Director Yimou Zhang
2007 Jury Award
- Tsotsi (2005), UK/S. Africa. Director Gavin Hood
2006 Jury Award
- The Syrian Bride (2004), France/Israel. Director Eran Riklis
2005 Jury Award
- The Barbarian Invasions (2003), Canada. Director Denys Arcand
2004 Jury Awards
- Best Feature Film: Gaz Bar Blues (2003), Canada. Director Louis Bélanger
- Best Film Short: Aftershock (2003), France. Director Michael Bergmann