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Monday, October 20, 2008

Gotham Independent Film Awards



Starting December 2nd at New York City’s Cipriani Wall Street, the new name for the awards, making the subtle shift from the Gotham Awards to the Gotham Independent Film Awards™.

Presented by IFP, the nation's oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers, the Gotham Independent Film Awards™ is one of the leading awards for independent film and the first major honors of the film awards season. The awards provide critical early recognition for worthy independent films, such as past winners Juno (2007), Half Nelson (2006), and Junebug (2005) - all of which went on to earn numerous awards and Oscar™ nominations for their stars Ellen Page, Ryan Gosling, and Amy Adams, respectively.

Garnering four separate nominations – the most for this year – is Ballast, Lance Hammer’s directorial debut and multiple-award winner from festivals as diverse as Sundance , Berlin , Deauville and others. The film is currently being self-distributed by Hammer’s Alluvial Film Company with the help of marketing consultant Steven Raphael’s Required Viewing. It was nominated for Best Feature, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor and Best Ensemble Performance.

Six films received two nominations, including Antonio Campos’ directorial debut from Cannes Afterschool; Courtney Hunt’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Frozen River; Jonathan Demme’s current release Rachel Getting Married; Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut from Cannes Synecdoche, New York; Woody Allen’s latest Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Tom McCarthy’s sophomore effort, The Visitor.

A total of 22 films received nominations in six categories: Best Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor, Best Ensemble Performance, and Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You™.

New this year, the recipient of the Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You™ will receive a cash award of $15,000 provided by Artists Public Domain, the non-profit dedicated to supporting the artistic vision of filmmakers working outside of the commercial mainstream, and D.R. Reiff & Associates Inc., a full service brokerage firm specializing in Arts & Entertainment Insurance.

“Contradicting the doom and gloom stories about the state of independent film, 2008 has proven to be an extremely strong year for an immensely diverse group of filmmakers tackling a range of subjects and forms in new and dynamic ways,” says Michelle Byrd, executive director of IFP. “Impressively, nearly 50% of our titles are directorial debuts.”

IFP previously announced that actor Penélope Cruz, president of HBO Documentary Films’ Sheila Nevins, and filmmakers Gus Van Sant and Melvin Van Peebles will be presented with Tributes at this year’s awards ceremony.

Selecting this year’s nominees were 18 critics, journalists, and film programmers (see list below). Final award recipients will be determined by separate juries of writers, directors, actors, producers, casting directors, composers and others directly involved in making films. The recipient of The Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You™ award will be determined by the editors of Filmmaker magazine, a publication of IFP, and a curator from The Museum of Modern Art.



The 18th Annual Gotham Independent Film Award™ nominees are:

Best Feature

Ballast

Lance Hammer, director; Lance Hammer, Nina Parikh, producers (Alluvial Film Company)

Frozen River

Courtney Hunt, director; Heather Rae, Chip Hourihan, producers (Sony Pictures Classics)

Synecdoche, New York

Charlie Kaufman, director; Anthony Bregman, Charlie Kaufman, Spike Jonze, Sidney Kimmel, producers (Sony Pictures Classics)

The Visitor

Tom McCarthy, director; Mary Jane Skalski, Michael London, producers (Overture Films)

The Wrestler

Darren Aronofsky, director; Scott Franklin, Darren Aronofsky, producers (Fox Searchlight Pictures)



Best Documentary

Chris & Don: A Love Story

Guido Santi & Tina Mascara, directors; Julia Scott, Tina Mascara, Guido Santi, James White, producers (Zeitgeist Films)

Encounters at the End of the World

Werner Herzog, director; Henry Kaiser, producer (THINKFilm / Image Entertainment)

Man on Wire

James Marsh, director; Simon Chinn, producer (Magnolia Pictures)

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

Maria Zenovich, director; Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Lila Yacoub, Marina Zenovich, producers (THINKFilm in association with HBO Documentaries)

Trouble the Water

Tia Lessin & Carl Deal, producers/directors (Zeitgeist Films)



Best Ensemble Performance



Ballast

Micheal J. Smith, Sr., JimMyron Ross, Tarra Riggs, Johnny McPhail (Alluvial Film Company)



Rachel Getting Married

Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin, Tunde Adebimpe, Mather Zickel, Anna Deavere Smith, Anisa George, Debra Winger (Sony Pictures Classics)



Synecdoche, New York

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hope Davis, Tom Noonan (Sony Pictures Classics)



Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz (The Weinstein Company)



The Visitor

Richard Jenkins, Hiam Abbas, Haaz Sleiman, Danai Gurira (Overture Films)





Breakthrough Director



Antonio Campos for Afterschool

Dennis Dortch for A Good Day to Be Black & Sexy (Magnolia Pictures)

Lance Hammer for Ballast (Alluvial Film Company)

Barry Jenkins for Medicine for Melancholy (IFC Films)

Alex Rivera for Sleep Dealer (Maya Releasing)





Breakthrough Actor



Pedro Castaneda in August Evening (Maya Releasing)

Rosemarie DeWitt in Rachel Getting Married (Sony Pictures Classics)

Rebecca Hall in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (The Weinstein Company)

Melissa Leo in Frozen River (Sony Pictures Classics)

Alejandro Polanco in Chop Shop (Koch Lorber Films)

Micheal J. Smith, Sr. in Ballast (Alluvial Film Company)





Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You™



Afterschool

Antonio Campos, director; Josh Mond, Sean Durkin, producers



Meadowlark

Taylor Greeson, producer/director



The New Year Parade

Tom Quinn, director; Steve Beal, Tom Quinn, producers



Sita Sings the Blues

Nina Paley, producer/director



Wellness

Jake Mahaffy, director; Jake Mahaffy, Jeff Clark, producers





The nominating committees for the Gotham Independent Film Awards™ announced above are as follows:



Nominating Committee for Best Feature and Best Ensemble Performance:

Ty Burr, Film Critic, The Boston Globe

Scott Foundas, Film Editor / Film Critic, LA Weekly

Dave Karger, Senior Writer, Entertainment Weekly

Carrie Rickey, Film Critic, The Philadelphia Inquirer



Nominating Committee for Breakthrough Director and Breakthrough Actor:

Cynthia Fuchs, Film Critic, PopMatters and NPR.org

Robert Koehler, Film Critic, Variety

Rob Nelson, Film Critic, Minnesota Post

Andrew O’Hehir, Senior Writer, Salon.com



Nominating Committee for Best Documentary:

Cynthia Fuchs, Film Critic, PopMatters and NPR.org

Owen Gleiberman, Film Critic, Entertainment Weekly

Tom Hall, Director of Programming, Sarasota Film Festival

Ronnie Scheib, Film Critic, Variety



Nominating Committee for Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You™:

Joshua Siegel, Associate Curator, Department of Film and Media, Museum of Modern Art;

and members of the editorial staff of Filmmaker Magazine: Scott Macaulay (Editor-in-Chief), Nick Dawson, Mary Glucksman, Jason Guerrasio, Brandon Harris, Ray Pride





2008 Gotham Independent Film Awards™ – Alphabetical List of Nominated Films



Afterschool

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You nominee

Breakthrough Director nominee



August Evening

Breakthrough Actor nominee



Ballast

Best Feature nominee

Best Ensemble Performance nominee

Breakthrough Actor nominee

Breakthrough Director nominee



Chop Shop

Breakthrough Actor nominee



Chris & Don: A Love Story

Best Documentary nominee



Encounters at the End of the World

Best Documentary nominee



Frozen River

Best Feature nominee

Breakthrough Actor nominee



A Good Day to Be Black & Sexy

Breakthrough Director nominee



Man on Wire

Best Documentary nominee



Meadowlark

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You nominee



Medicine for Melancholy

Breakthrough Director nominee



The New Year Parade

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You nominee



Rachel Getting Married

Best Ensemble Performance nominee

Breakthrough Actor nominee



Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

Best Documentary nominee



Sita Sings the Blues

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You nominee



Sleep Dealer

Breakthrough Director nominee



Synecdoche, New York

Best Feature nominee

Best Ensemble Performance nominee



Trouble the Water

Best Documentary nominee



Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Ensemble Performance nominee

Breakthrough Actor nominee



The Visitor

Best Feature nominee

Best Ensemble Performance nominee



Wellness

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You nominee



The Wrestler

Best Feature nominee





Sponsors of the 18th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards™ include Premiere sponsors The New York Times and Nokia. Presenting sponsors are A DIAMOND IS FOREVER, Focus Features, Stella Artois and Variety. Official Spirit ABSOLUT VODKA. Additionally, the awards will be promoted nationally in an eight-page special advertising section in The New York Times this December.

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