It was a night of multiple winners instead of winners with multiple wins at the 17th annual Gotham awards – where the IFP recognize the best in independent filmmaking through 6 simple award categories.
With only Todd Haynes' Dylan project as a possible threat, it was perhaps an easy win for Sean Penn's Into the Wild. And thought Craig Zobel got shut out in two categories, the director was rewarded with the Breakthrough director award. Michael Moore's popularity has not diminished as he picked up documentary film award of the year (evidently for Sicko) and Reitman's Juno continued its rise in popularity with Ellen Page picking up breakthrough actor award over Emile Hirsch's perf in Into the Wild.
Voters were dead-locked in the ensemble category: Before the Devil Knows You're Dead was perhaps the favored of the category and people didn't forget Focus Features' summer release of Talk to Me who tied for the award.
Finally, the editors of Filmmaker magazine (this includes our own Benjamin Crossly-Marra) choose Ronald Bronstein's Frownland as “The Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You” award. The pic just got nominated in a similar category for the Indie Spirit awards earlier today.
For a full category listing scroll down below (winners in asterix*).
The 17th Annual Gotham Award nominees are:
Best Feature:
The Great World of Sound
Craig Zobel, director; Melissa Palmer, David Gordon Green, Richard Wright,
Craig Zobel, producers (Magnolia Pictures)
I'm Not There
Todd Haynes, director; Christine Vachon, James D. Stern, John Sloss, John
Goldwyn, producers (The Weinstein Company)
Into the Wild*
Sean Penn, director; Sean Penn, Art Linson, Bill Pohlad, producers (Paramount Vantage & River Road Entertainment)
Margot at the Wedding
Noah Baumbach, director; Scott Rudin, producer (Paramount Vantage)
The Namesake
Mira Nair, director; Lydia Dean Pilcher, Mira Nair, producers (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Best Documentary
The Devil Came on Horseback
Annie Sundberg & Ricki Stern, directors; Ricki Stern, Annie Sundberg,
Gretchen Wallace, Jane Wells, producers (International Film Circuit)
Jimmy Carter Man From Plains
Jonathan Demme, director; Jonathan Demme, Neda Armian, producers (Sony Pictures Classics)
My Kid Could Paint That
Amir Bar-Lev, producer/director (Sony Pictures Classics)
Sicko*
Michael Moore, director; Michael Moore, Meghan O'Hara, producers (The
Weinstein Company)
Taxi to the Dark Side
Alex Gibney, director; Alex Gibney, Eva Orner, Susannah Shipman, producers (THINKFilm)
Best Ensemble Cast:
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead*
Albert Finney, Rosemary Harris, Ethan Hawke, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Brian F. O'Byrne, Amy Ryan, Michael Shannon, Marisa Tomei (THINKFilm)
The Last Winter
Connie Britton, Kevin Corrigan, Zach Gilford, James LeGros, Ron Perlman (IFC First Take)
Margot at the Wedding
Jack Black, Flora Cross, Ciarán Hinds, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh,
Zane Pais, John Turturro (Paramount Vantage)
The Savages
Philip Bosco, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Talk to Me*
Cedric the Entertainer, Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mike Epps, Vondie
Curtis Hall, Taraji P. Henson, Martin Sheen (Focus Features)
Breakthrough Director
Lee Isaac Chung for Munyurangabo (Liberation Day)
Stephane Gauger for Owl and the Sparrow
Julia Loktev for Day Night Day Night (IFC First Take)
David Von Ancken for Seraphim Falls (Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Craig Zobel for The Great World of Sound (Magnolia Pictures) *
Breakthrough Actor
Emile Hirsch in Into the Wild (Paramount Vantage)
Kene Holliday in The Great World of Sound (Magnolia Pictures)
Ellen Page in Juno (Fox Searchlight Pictures) *
Jess Weixler in Teeth (Roadside Attractions)
Luisa Williams in Day Night Day Night (IFC First Take)
Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You (chosen by the editors of Filmmaker)
August the First
Lanre Olabisi, director; Shawn Alexander, Gabriel “Swede” Sedgwick, Nicky
Arzeu Akmal, Lanre Olabisi, producers
Frownland*
Ronald Bronstein, director; Marc Raybin, producer
Loren Cass
Chris Fuller, director; Chris Fuller, Frank Craft, Kayla Tabish, producers
Mississippi Chicken
John Fiege, director; John Fiege, Anita Grabowski, Victor Moyers, producers
Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa
Jeremy Stulberg & Randy Stulberg, directors; Eric Juhola, Jeremy Stulberg,
Randy Stulberg, producers
