Gessica Généus’s “Marie Madeleine” Wins the Gold Hugo at the Chicago Film Festival

“Marie Madeleine,” the feature film by Haitian director Gessica Généus, won the Gold Hugo in the New Directors Competition at the Chicago International Film Festival this week. The award adds to largely glowing reviews for the film.

The festival announced the winners on Instagram, with “Marie Madeleine” taking the Gold Hugo. The jury praised the film’s singular worldview and inventive visual approach, as well as the way the filmmaker explores Haitian storytelling traditions and the country’s social, political and religious tensions.

Gessica Généus wrote and directed the film and also stars in the lead role. Set in Jacmel, it follows a sex worker whose path crosses that of Joseph, a young evangelist.

What the critics are saying

The French press has given the film a broadly enthusiastic reception. In Le Monde, Jacques Mandelbaum labeled it a must-see, while Franceinfo called it radical and fascinating in both form and substance, noting that the filmmaker confronts both the powerlessness of the state and the rise of religious communities.

La Croix described a film of strange, spellbinding beauty, while Libération hailed it as a superb Haitian film — something that doesn’t come along every day.