DEC 14: All first-round ballots are due by 6:00 PM CST

DEC 15: The second and final round of balloting begins.

DEC 17: Second-round ballots are due in by 6:00 PM CST

DEC 18: The winners will be announced at a time and place to be designated .

Awards will be handed out in 15 categories including: Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay , Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Original Score, Promising Performer, Promising Filmmaker as well as Foreign Language Film, Documentary and Animated Feature.

The CFCA has proven to be much more influential to Academy voters than critics organizations in New York or Los Angeles when it comes to Oscar nominations and winners. Consider that in 2007, all of the winners of the organization’s Top Eight categories (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay) went on to Oscar nominations and six of them went on to win Academy awards. Over the past decade, 78.5% of those nominated for CFCA awards in the Top Eight received Oscar nominations and 41.8% have gone on to win the Oscar. Compare that to New York’s 22.8% and 21.4% for Los Angeles.

The CFCA is restricted to professional film critics recognized by editors and producers as their official critical voices for their respective commercial media outlets. Members agree to abide by the Board of Directors ethics policy which states that members will not run reviews in advance of the opening of a film, or attempt to sell movie-related materials they receive. The Chicago Film Critics Association looks forward to working with you during this awards season.

Questions may be directed to CFCA President Dann Gire ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ), award liaisons officer and Vice President Erik Childress ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) and Membership Chair Peter Sobczynski ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).