Film fest blows into Chicago.

The 42nd Chicago International Film Festival, North Americas oldest competitive film festival, closed with the Golden Hugo award for Best Film going to Iranian director Asghar Farhadi's Fireworks Wednesday. The competition included 98 feature films, 33 shorts and student films and 14 documentaries, spanning more than 30 countries.

Days of Glory by Rachid Bouchareb (France/Algeria) won the Silver Hugo Special Jury Prize. The Silver Hugo Award went to Hungarian director Gyorgy Palfi's Taxidermia. Director James Longley was awarded the Golden Hugo for Best Documentary to Iraq in Fragments, and the Golden Hugo for the Short Film Competition went to Forgetting Betty by directors James Anderson and Robert Postrozny.

The Festival opened with the U.S. premiere of Stranger Than Fiction. On opening night, one of the film's stars, Dustin Hoffman, was honored with the Golden Hugo for Lifetime Achievement. The Black Perspective 10th Anniversary Tribute Party, hosted by director Spike Lee, honored screen legend Ruby Dee with a Lifetime Achievement Award, and hip-hop musician Andre Benjamin with the Emergent Artist Award. Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu attended the screening of Paramount Vantage's Babel, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blachett. Liza Minnelli made a rare appearance for an interview with John Russell of London-based The Times.

Story and picture by Alessandro Pajewski.