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24th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards by IFP Winners Announced

Posted Tuesday, December 2nd, 2014 - Comments Off on 24th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards by IFP Winners Announced
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The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) tonight announced the winners of the 24thAnnual Gotham Independent Film Awards at its awards ceremony held at Cipriani Wall Street, in New York City.

Winning the Best Feature award was Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Alejandro González Iñárritu’s stylistically adventurous existential comedy in which a Hollywood actor attempts to revive his career and obliterate his superhero image past by producing and starring in a serious Broadway drama. Iñárritu previously received a Gotham Tribute in 2006.

The award for Best Documentary went to CITIZENFOUR, Laura Poitras’ inside, of-the-moment telling of the Edward Snowden revelations on the massive covert surveillance programs run by the NSA and other intelligence agencies – the third film in her trilogy on post-9/11 America.

Poitras previously won this award in 2010 for The Oath, the second film in the trilogy.

The Gotham Independent Film Audience Award, voted by IFP members, went to Boyhood, Richard Linklater’s epic yet intimate film that recounts the story of a boy’s coming of age from age six to eighteen, filmed over the course of twelve years. Linklater was the recipient of last year’s Gotham Director Tribute.

Winning the award for Best Actor was Michael Keaton for his virtuoso turn as the central character of Riggan Thomas in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). Julianne Moore was voted Best Actress for her emotionally detailed and powerful performance in Still Alice, in which she plays a renowned linguistics professor who receives a diagnosis of Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease. Moore received a Gotham Actor Tribute in 2002.

In awards for emerging talent, Ana Lily Amirpour won the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director award for A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, her visually stunning Iranian vampire tale (shot in Bakersfield, CA) that mixes gender politics, romance, cinematic influences from Leone to Lynch, and New Wave and Arab rock in a distinctive debut.

Tessa Thompson received the Breakthrough Actor award for Dear White People, in which she portrays the film’s central character, Sam White, outspoken college radio deejay who conceals  her own complicated personal life.

Also presented by IFP for the fourth year at the ceremony was 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 winner of the 2014 grant was Chloé Zhao, director of the upcoming Songs My Brothers Taught Me.

As previously announced, in addition to the competitive awards presented, a Special Jury Award was presented jointly to the three leading actors in Foxcatcher – Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, andChanning Tatum – for their ensemble work in the film, and career tributes were given during the ceremony to actor Tilda Swinton(presented by Amy Schumer), director Bennett Miller (presented by Catherine Keener) and Industry Tribute recipient Netflix’s Ted Sarandos (presented by Will Arnett).

The ceremony was streamed live to a global audience at www.ifp.org.

The 24th Annual Gotham Independent Film Award recipients are:

For Best Feature, presented by Jon Hamm

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Produced by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan and James W. Skotchdopole

Released by Fox Searchlight Pictures

The Best Feature jury included: Jane Fonda, Jon Hamm, Jody Lee Lipes, Oren Moverman and Lydia Dean Pilcher

For Best Documentary, presented by Scarlett Johansson

CITIZENFOUR

Directed by Laura Poitras

Produced by Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky

Released by RADiUS, Participant Media, and HBO Documentary Films

The Best Documentary jury included: Heidi Ewing, Chris Hegedus, Morgan Neville, Jehane Noujaim and Jonathan Oppenheim

For the Gotham Independent Film Audience Award, presented by Miles Teller & Oscar Isaac

Boyhood

Directed by Richard Linklater

Produced by Richard Linklater, Cathleen Sutherland, Jonathan Sehring and John Sloss

Released by IFC Films

The Audience Award was voted for on-line by IFP members.

For Best Actor, presented by Marisa Tomei

Michael Keaton in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Released by Fox Searchlight Pictures

The Best Actor Jury included: Ramin Bahrani, Jennifer Lame, Kenneth Lonergan, Lupita Nyong’o and Leslie Urdang

For Best Actress, presented by Jake Gyllenhaal

(presenting sponsor euphoria Calvin Klein)

Julianne Moore in Still Alice

Released by Sony Pictures Classics

The Best Actress Jury included Joshua Astrachan, Lee Daniels, Damian Lewis, Nat Sanders and Uma Thurman

For Breakthrough Actor, presented by Heather Graham

Tessa Thompson in Dear White People

Released by Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate

The Breakthrough Actor Jury included: Brie Larson, Ron Simons, Famke Janssen, Shane Carruth and Michael B. Jordan

For Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director, presented by Patricia Arquette & Ethan Hawke

Ana Lily Amirpour for A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

Released by Kino Lorber

The Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Jury included: Casey Affleck, Tricia Cooke, Cary Fukunaga, Amy Seimetz and Christine K. Walker

For Special Jury Award, presented by Meryl Streep

Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, and Channing Tatum – for their ensemble work inFoxcatcher

Released by Sony Pictures Classics

The nominating jury recommending the award included Ann Hornaday, Mark Harris, Glenn Kenny, David Rooney, and Elizabeth Weitzman

For the euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Filmmakers ‘Live the Dream’ Grant, presented by Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Chloé Zhao, director, Songs My Brothers Taught Me

The euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Filmmakers’ ‘Live the Dream’ grant jury included: Susan Stover, Michelle Monaghan and Jennifer Westfeldt

 

The Gotham Award winners were chosen from a total of 24 films that received nominations in seven competitive categories.

Sponsors

The Premier Sponsor of the 24th annual Gotham Independent Film Awards is The New York Times and the Platinum Sponsor is euphoria Calvin Klein. Additionally, the awards are promoted nationally in an eight-page special advertising section in The New York Times each November. The Official Spirit is Maestro Dobel Tequila. The Official Wine Partner is Line 39 by O’Neil.

About IFP

The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) champions the future of storytelling by connecting artists with essential resources at all stages of development and distribution. The organization fosters a vibrant and sustainable independent storytelling community through its year-round programs, which include Independent Film Week, Filmmaker Magazine, the Gotham Independent Film Awards and the Made in NY Media Center by IFP, a new incubator space developed with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. IFP represents a growing network of 10,000 storytellers around the world, and plays a key role in developing 350 new feature and documentary works each year. During its 35-year history, IFP has supported over 8,000 projects and offered resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers, including Debra Granik, Miranda July, Michael Moore, Dee Rees, and Benh Zeitlin. More info at www.ifp.org.

About the Gotham Independent Film Awards by IFP

The Gotham Independent Film Awards by IFP, selected by distinguished juries and presented in New York City, the home of independent film, are the first honors of the film awards season. This public showcase honors the filmmaking community, expands the audience for independent films, and supports the work that IFP does behind the scenes throughout the year to bring such films to fruition.

For information on attending: http://gotham.ifp.org

 

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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.

I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”

My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher

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~ David Simon