Gessica Généus wins Hugo d’Or at Chicago International Film Festival

Haitian filmmaker and actress Gessica Généus has won the Hugo d’Or in the New Directors Competition at the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival for her second fiction feature, ‘Marie Madeleine’.

The jury praised the film for its inventive visual language and its unique perspective on Haitian society, specifically noting how it explores the country's narrative traditions alongside social, political, and religious tensions. Set in Jacmel, the film follows a sex worker who encounters a young evangelist named Joseph.

Généus makes history as the first Black woman to receive this specific award since the inception of the New Directors category. The film has received critical acclaim in France, with outlets such as Le Monde, Franceinfo, and Libération describing the work as fascinating, radical, and superb.