17th Gotham Awards

The nominees for this independent film awards were announced yesterday and here they are.

Best Feature

Great World of Sound, Craig Zobel
I’m Not There, Todd Haynes
Into the Wild, Sean Penn
Margot at the Wedding, Noah Baumbach
The Namesake, Mira Nair

Best Ensemble Cast

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead: Albert Finney, Rosemary Harris, Ethan Hawke, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Brian F. O’Byrne, AmyRyan, 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, JohnTurturro (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
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 Great World of Sound (Magnolia Pictures)

Breakthrough Actor

Emile Hirsch in Into the Wild (Paramount Vantage)
Kene Holliday in 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

August the First, Lanre Olabisi
Frowland, Ronald Bronstein
Loren Class, Chris fuller
Mississippi Chicken, John Fiege
Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa, Jeremy Stulberg & Randy Stulberg

The Awards will be presented at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn Navy Yard on Tuesday, November 27th.

They will present Gotham Tributes to six individuals in recognition of their influential work in the film industry: Actor Javier Bardem, film critic Roger Ebert, production designer Mark Friedberg, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, directot Mira Nair and Jonathan Sehring President of IFC Entertainment and creator of IFC Center.

There will be a Mira Nair Retrospective at the IFC Center in NYC with screenings of the following movies.
Monsoon Wedding, 2001
Kama Sutra: A Tale Of Love, 1996
Hysterical Blindness, 2002
Mississippi Masala, 1991
Salaam Bombay, 1988 – in this screening they will give away free DVD’s to all attendees of Mira’s latest film The Namesake!!!

Also a Javier Bardem Retrospective at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) with screenings of the following films. To check this Special Program at the BAM site go here.

The Dancer Upstair, John Malkovich, 2002
Carne Tremula (Live Flesh), Pedro Almodovar, 1997
Los Lunes al Sol (Mondays in the Sun), Fernando Leon de Aranoa, 2002
Before Night Falls, Julian Schnabel, 200

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You series will be held at MoMA. If you want to check the program at MoMA's site go here.

To check the award site go here.

The Gotham Awards are a great excuse to got to NYC in late November… besides I always say that autumn is the best time to visit this great city.