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TagsBY PAULA SCHWARTZ
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the nation’s oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers, announced their nominees today for the Gotham Independent Film Awards.
This is the kick-off to the film awards season, which will soon begin a relentless round of award shows and events given out by numerous associations, culminating in the Oscars on Feb. 24, 2013.
IFP’s Gotham Independent Film Awards gave out nominations to a total of 26 films across six competitive categories for Best Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor, Best Ensemble Performance, and Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You. In the lead, receiving two nominations each, were "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Bernie, Middle of Nowhere," and "Moonrise Kingdom." (We’re betting “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and director Benh Zeitlin and his star Quvenzhané Wallis will be the big winners at the Gothams.)
The Gotham Awards, which take place Monday, November 26 at Cipriani Wall Street, gets lots of celebrity wattage who come out to celebrate the Indie Spirit as well as to get ready for the awards season hoopla that begins after Thanksgiving. The event is not televised – although it is taped and shown later – so speeches are uncensored and can get pretty wild, which makes it a raucous event. Since it’s the first major awards ceremony of the season, it’s also a good prognosticator of what films and film makers will be frontrunners in the upcoming film awards seasons, particularly for Oscar contention. (There are movie geeks who live for this stuff!).
Previous winners at the Gothams that went on to receive Oscar recognition include “Beginners” (2011), “Tree of Life” (2011), “Winter's Bone” (2010) and “The Hurt Locker (2009)”; Breakthrough Actors Melissa Leo (2008), Ellen Page (2007), Rinko Kikuchi (2006) and Amy Adams (2005).
Primary criteria for nomination consideration includes that the works be independently distributed American feature-length films (US-based or US-born directors and producers) made with a point of view. For a complete list of criteria, see http://gotham.ifp.org
“From master film artists to richly talented newcomers, this year’s nominees comprise a diverse group of filmmakers and actors that defines the spectrum of independent film today” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director of IFP. “In addition to celebrating the work and the community, we also hope that the Gotham Award attention will encourage more audiences to explore the range of vibrant, entertaining, challenging, and innovative films represented here.
In addition to the competitive awards, actors Marion Cotillard and Matt Damon, director David O. Russell, and Participant Media founder Jeff Skoll will each be presented with a career tribute.
“Since 2004, when IFP increased the number of the Gotham Award categories, expanded the criteria to include filmmakers beyond New York, and moved the awards ceremony to “awards season,” nominees have been selected by groups of distinguished film critics, journalists, festival programmers, and film curators. Separate juries of writers, directors, actors, producers, editors and others directly involved in making films will determine the final Gotham Award recipients.”
Below are the complete list of nominations for the 2012 Gotham Independent Film Awards:
Best Feature
"Bernie"
Richard Linklater, director; Richard Linklater, Ginger Sledge, Celine Rattray, Martin Shafer, Liz Glotzer, Matt Williams, David McFadzean, Judd Payne, Dete Meserve, producers (Millennium Entertainment)
"The Loneliest Planet"
Julia Loktev, director; Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Helge Albers, Marie Therese Guirgis, producers (Sundance Selects)
"The Master"
Paul Thomas Anderson, director; Joanne Sellar, Daniel Lupi, Paul Thomas Anderson, Megan Ellison, producers (The Weinstein Company)
"Middle of Nowhere"
Ava DuVernay, director; Howard Barish, Ava DuVernay, Paul Garnes, producers (AFFRM and Participant Media)
"Moonrise Kingdom"
Wes Anderson, director; Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson, producers (Focus Features)
Best Documentary
"Detropia"
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, directors; Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, Craig Atkinson, producers (Loki Films)
"How to Survive a Plague"
David France, director; Howard Gertler, David France, producers (Sundance Selects)
"Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present"
Matthew Akers, director; Jeff Dupre, Maro Chermayeff, producers (HBO Documentary Films and Music Box Films)
"Room 237"
Rodney Ascher, director; Tim Kirk, producer (IFC Midnight)
"The Waiting Room"
Peter Nicks, director; Peter Nicks, Linda Davis, William B. Hirsch, producers (International Film Circuit)
Best Ensemble Performance
"Bernie"
Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey (Millennium Entertainment)
"Moonrise Kingdom"
Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban (Focus Features)
"Safety Not Guaranteed"
Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni, Jenica Bergere, Kristen Bell, Jeff Garlin, Mary Lynn Rajskub (Film District)
"Silver Linings Playbook"
Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Anupam Kher (The Weinstein Company)
"Your Sister’s Sister"
Emily Blunt, Rosemarie Dewitt, Mark Duplass (IFC Films)
Breakthrough Director
Zal Batmanglij for "Sound of My Voice" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky for "Francine" (Factory 25 and The Film Sales Company)
Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin for "Now, Forager" (Argot Pictures)
Antonio Méndez Esparza for "Aquí y Allá (Here and There)" (Torch Films)
Benh Zeitlin for "Beasts of the Southern Wild" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Breakthrough Actor
Mike Birbiglia in "Sleepwalk with Me" (IFC Films)
Emayatzy Corinealdi in "Middle of Nowhere" (AFFRM and Participant Media)
Thure Lindhardt in "Keep the Lights On" (Music Box Films)
Melanie Lynskey in "Hello, I Must Be Going" (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Quvenzhané Wallis in "Beasts of the Southern Wild" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You
"Kid-Thing"
David Zellner, director; Nathan Zellner, Producer
"An Oversimplification of Her Beauty"
Terence Nance, director; Terence Nance, Andrew Corkin, James Bartlett, producers
"Red Flag"
Alex Karpovsky, director; Alex Karpovsky, Michael Bowes, producers
"Sun Don’t Shine"
Amy Seimetz, director; Kim Sherman, Amy Seimetz, producers
"Tiger Tail in Blue"
Frank V. Ross, director; Adam Donaghey, Drew Durepos, producers
“For the second consecutive year, IFP is proud present the euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Filmmakers ‘Live the Dream’ grant, a $25,000 cash award for an alumna of IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs. This grant aims to further the careers of emerging women directors by supporting the completion, distribution and audience engagement strategies of their first feature film.”
The nominees are:
Leah Meyerhoff, director, "I Believe in Unicorns"
Stacie Passon, director, "Concussion"
Visra Vichit Vadakan, "Karaoke Girl"
