In a cinematic landscape increasingly dominated by gargantuan, risk-averse budgets, the upcoming Gotham Awards have set the stage for a compelling David vs. Goliath narrative. The gorilla in the room is Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, a behemoth with a budget north of $100 million, which finds itself with six nominations pitting it against a chorus of scrappier, lower-profile titles such as East of Wall, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Lurker, Sorry, Baby and Familiar Touch. Adding to the final ten we have bigger budget scaled Bugonia, Hamnet, The Testament of Ann Lee and Train Dreams. Comically the Best Director category doesn’t mesh with the Best Features noms, as we have Jafar Panahi, Kelly Reichardt and Oliver Laxe are joining Bronstein and PTA on the scorecard. As we know, nominees were selected by small committees of film critics, journalists, programmers and curators, while the final winners are determined by filmmakers, producers, editors and actors. If you love cinema there is a little bit of everything for everyone. Awards night is December 1st. Here are all the noms below:
Best Feature
“Bugonia” (Focus Features) — Ari Aster, Ed Guiney, Lars Knudsen, Jerry Kyoungboum Ko, Yorgos Lanthimos, Miky Lee, Andrew Lowe, Emma Stone, producers
“East of Wall” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Kate Beecroft, Shannon Moss, Melanie Ramsayer, Lila Yacoub, producers
“Familiar Touch” (Music Box Films) — Alexandra Byer, Sarah Friedland, Matthew Thurm, producers
“Hamnet” (Focus Features) — Nicolas Gonda, Pippa Harris, Liza Marshall, Sam Mendes, Steven Spielberg, producers
“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” (A24) — Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, Richie Doyle, Conor Hannon, Sara Murphy, Josh Safdie, Ryan Zacarias, producers
“Lurker” (Mubi) — Galen Core, Archie Madekwe, Marc Marrie, Charlie McDowell, Francesco Melzi d’Eril, Duncan Montgomery, Alex Orlovsky, Olmo Schnabel, Jack Selby, producers
“One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros. Pictures) — Paul Thomas Anderson, Sara Murphy, Adam Somner, producers
“Sorry, Baby” (A24) — Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski, producers
“The Testament of Ann Lee” (Searchlight Pictures) — Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold, Joshua Horsfield, Gregory Jankilevitsch, Mark Lampert, Lillian LaSalle, Andrew Morrison, Viktória Petrányi, Klaudia Smieja-Rostworowska, producers
“Train Dreams” (Netflix) — Michael Heimler, Will Janowitz, Marissa McMahon, Ashley Schlaifer, Teddy Schwarzman, producers
“It Was Just an Accident” (Neon) — Philippe Martin, Jafar Panahi, producers
“No Other Choice” (Neon) — Park Chan-wook, Alexandre Gavras, Michèle Ray Gavras, Back Jisun, producers
“Nouvelle Vague” (Netflix) — Laurent Pétin, Michèle Pétin, producers
“Resurrection” (Janus Films) — Charles Gillibert, Yang Lele, Shan Zuolong, producers
“Sound of Falling” (Mubi) — Lucas Schmidt, Maren Schmitt, producers
Best Documentary Feature
“2000 Meters to Andriivka” (PBS) — directed by Mstyslav Chernov; Raney Aronson-Rath, Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, producers
“BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” (Rich Spirit) — directed by Kahlil Joseph; Onye Anyanwu, Kahlil Joseph, David Linde, Anikah McLaren, James Shani, Steven Soderbergh, producers
“My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow” (self-distributed) — directed and produced by Julia Loktev
“The Perfect Neighbor” (Netflix) — directed by Geeta Gandbhir; Sam Bisbee, Geeta Gandbhir, Nikon Kwantu, Alisa Payne, producers
“Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk” (Kino Lorber) — directed by Sepideh Farsi; Javad Djavahery, Sepideh Farsi, producers
Best Director
Mary Bronstein, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” (A24)
Jafar Panahi, “It Was Just an Accident” (Neon)
Kelly Reichardt, “The Mastermind” (Mubi)
Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Oliver Laxe, “Sirât” (Neon)
Constance Tsang, “Blue Sun Palace” (Mubi)
Carson Lund, “Eephus” (Music Box Films)
Sarah Friedland, “Familiar Touch” (Music Box Films)
Akinola Davies Jr., “My Father’s Shadow” (Mubi)
Harris Dickinson, “Urchin” (1-2 Special)
Best Original Screenplay
“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” (A24) — written by Mary Bronstein
“It Was Just an Accident” (Neon) — written by Jafar Panahi
“The Secret Agent” (Neon) — written by Kleber Mendonça Filho
“Sorry, Baby” (A24) — written by Eva Victor
“Sound of Falling” (Mubi) — written by Louise Peter, Mascha Schilinski
Best Adapted Screenplay
“No Other Choice” (Neon) — written by Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Jahye Lee, Don McKellar
“One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros. Pictures) — written by Paul Thomas Anderson
“Pillion” (A24) — written by Harry Lighton
“Preparation for the Next Life” (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios) — written by Martyna Majok
“Train Dreams” (Netflix) — written by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar
Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet” (Focus Features)
Lee Byung-hun, “No Other Choice” (Neon)
Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” (A24)
Sopé Dìrísù, “My Father’s Shadow” (Mubi)
Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Jennifer Lawrence, “Die My Love” (Mubi)
Wagner Moura, “The Secret Agent” (Neon)
Josh O’Connor, “The Mastermind” (Mubi)
Amanda Seyfried, “The Testament of Ann Lee” (Searchlight Pictures)
Tessa Thompson, “Hedda” (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)
Outstanding Supporting Performance
Benicio Del Toro, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Jacob Elordi, “Frankenstein” (Netflix)
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, “Sentimental Value” (Neon)
Indya Moore, “Father Mother Sister Brother” (Mubi)
Wunmi Mosaku, “Sinners” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Adam Sandler, “Jay Kelly” (Netflix)
Andrew Scott, “Blue Moon” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Alexander Skarsgård, “Pillion” (A24)
Stellan Skarsgård, “Sentimental Value” (Neon)
Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Breakthrough Performer
A$AP Rocky, “Highest 2 Lowest” (A24)
Sebiye Behtiyar, “Preparation for the Next Life” (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)
Chase Infiniti, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Abou Sangaré, “Souleymane’s Story” (Kino Lorber)
Tonatiuh, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate/LD Entertainment)
