NEW YORK -- (SPW) --

The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the nation’s premier member organization of independent storytellers, announced today the nominees for the 27th Annual IFP Gotham Awards. For 2017, ten competitive awards will be presented to independent features and series. In addition to the competitive awards, Gotham Award Tributes will be given to actors Nicole Kidman and Dustin Hoffman, director Sofia Coppola, producer Jason Blum, cinematographer Ed Lachman, and a Gotham Humanitarian Tribute to Al Gore.  

 The Gotham Awards is one of the leading awards for independent film and signals the kick-off to the film awards season. As the first major awards ceremony of the film season, the IFP Awards provide critical early recognition and media attention to worthy independent films. The awards are also unique for their ability to assist in catapulting award recipients prominently into national awards season attention.  

“This year offered a bountiful array of diverse, creative work that represents the very best from this community. We’re thrilled to celebrate these achievements,” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director of IFP and the Made in NY Media Center.  

Thirty-four films and series received nominations this year. In addition, the nominating committee for the Best Actor and Best Actress categories voted to award a Special Jury Award to the ensemble cast of Mudbound.  

Nominees are selected by committees of 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.  

The Gotham Audience Award nominees are comprised of the 14 films nominated for Best Feature, Best Documentary, and the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award. The winners will be selected by online voting of IFP members. Voting for that award begins November 17th.  In addition this year, the winner of the Breakthrough Series – Short Form (all available on the web) will be selected by online IFP member voting.    

The Gotham Awards ceremony will be held on Monday, November 27th at Cipriani Wall Street. 

The 2017   IFP Gotham Independent Film Award nominations are: 

Best Feature  

Call Me by Your Name 

Luca Guadagnino, director; Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges, Rodrigo Teixeira, Marco Morabito, James Ivory, Howard Rosenman, producers (Sony Pictures Classics) 

The Florida Project 

Sean Baker, director; Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch, Kevin Chinoy, Andrew Duncan, Alex Saks, Francesca Silvestri, Shih-Ching Tsou, producers (A24) 

Get Out 

Jordan Peele, director; Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm, Jr., Jordan Peele, producers (Universal Pictures) 

Good Time 

Josh and Benny Safdie, directors; Paris Kasidokostas-Latsis, Terry Dougas, Sebastian Bear-McClard, Oscar Boyson, producers (A24) 

I, Tonya 

Craig Gillespie, director; Bryan Unkeless, Steven Rogers, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, producers (NEON) 

 

Best Documentary 

Ex Libris – The New York Public Library  

Frederick Wiseman, director and producer (Zipporah Films) 

Rat Film 

Theo Anthony, director; Riel Roch-Decter, Sebastian Pardo, producers (MEMORY and Cinema Guild) 

Strong Island 

Yance Ford, director; Yance Ford, Joslyn Barnes, producers (Netflix) 

Whose Streets? 

Sabaah Folayan, Damon Davis, directors; Sabaah Folayan, Damon Davis, Jennifer MacArthur, Flannery Miller, producers (Magnolia Pictures) 

The Work 

Jairus McLeary, director; Gethin Aldous, co-director;  Alice Henty, Eon McLeary, Jairus McLeary, Miles McLeary, producers (The Orchard and First Look Media) 

 

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award 

Maggie Betts for Novitiate (Sony Pictures Classics) 

Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird (A24) 

Kogonada for Columbus (Superlative Films/Depth of Field) 

Jordan Peele for Get Out (Universal Pictures) 

Joshua Z Weinstein for Menashe (A24) 

 

Best Screenplay 

The Big Sick, Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani (Amazon Studios) 

Brad’s Status, Mike White (Amazon Studios) 

Call Me by Your Name, James Ivory (Sony Pictures Classics) 

Columbus, Kogonada (Superlative Films/Depth of Field) 

Get Out, Jordan Peele (Universal Pictures) 

Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig (A24)  

 

Best Actor* 

Willem Dafoe in The Florida Project (A24) 

James Franco in The Disaster Artist (A24) 

Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out (Universal Pictures) 

Robert Pattinson in Good Time (A24) 

Adam Sandler in The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (Netflix) 

Harry Dean Stanton in Lucky (Magnolia Pictures) 

 

Best Actress* 

Melanie Lynskey in I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore (Netflix) 

Haley Lu Richardson in Columbus (Superlative Films/Depth of Field) 

Margot Robbie in I, Tonya (NEON) 

Saoirse Ronan in Lady Bird (A24) 

Lois Smith in Marjorie Prime (FilmRise) 

 

Breakthrough Actor  

Mary J. Blige in Mudbound (Netflix) 

Timothée Chalamet in Call Me by Your Name (Sony Pictures Classics) 

Harris Dickinson in Beach Rats (NEON) 

Kelvin Harrison, Jr. in It Comes at Night (A24) 

Brooklynn Prince in The Florida Project (A24) 

* The 2017 Best Actor/Best Actress nominating committee also voted to award a special Gotham Jury Award for ensemble performance to Mudbound, The award will go to actors Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Mary J. Blige, Rob Morgan, and Jonathan Banks. 

 

Breakthrough Series – Long Form 

Atlanta, Donald Glover, creator; Donald Glover, Dianne McGunigle, Paul Simms, executive producers (FX Networks) 

Better Things, Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K., creators; Dave Becky, M. Blair Breard, Louis C.K., Pamela Adlon, executive producers (FX Networks) 

Dear White People, Justin Simien, creator; Yvette Lee Bowser, Justin Simien, Stephanie Allain, Julia Lebedev, executive producers (Netflix) 

Fleabag, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, creator; Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Harry Williams, Jack Williams, executive producers (Amazon) 

Search Party, Sarah-Violet Bliss, Charles Rogers, Michael Showalter, creators; Sarah-Violet Bliss, Charles Rogers, Michael Showalter, Tony Hernandez, Lilly Burns,  executive producers (TBS) 

 

Breakthrough Series – Short Form 

555, Kate Berlant, Andrew DeYoung and John Early, creators (Vimeo) 

Inconceivable, Joel Ashton McCarthy, creator (YouTube) 

Junior, Zoe Cassavetes, creator (Blackpills and VICE) 

Let Me Die a Nun, Sarah Salovaara, creator (Vimeo) 

The Strange Eyes of Dr. Myes, Nancy Andrews, creator (YouTube) 

(Additional credits to be determined.) 

 

Twenty-eight writers, critics and programmers participated in the nomination process. The  Nominating Committees for the 2017 IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards were: 

Nominating Committee for Best Feature, Best Screenplay, and Breakthrough Director: 

Justin Chang, Film Critic, Los Angeles Times 

Peter Debruge, Chief Film Critic, Variety 

Christy Lemire, Film Critic, RogerEbert.com; Co-host of What the Flick?!  

David Rooney, Chief Theater Critic, The Hollywood Reporter  

Joshua Rothkopf, Global Deputy Film Editor, Time Out New York 

Nominating Committee for Best Documentary: 

Ben Fowlie, Executive Director, Points North Institute; Founder, Camden International Film Festival 

Cynthia Fuchs, Film & TV Reviews, PopMatters; Director of Film & Media Studies, George Mason University 

Eric Kohn, Deputy Editor & Chief Critic, Indiewire 

Mike Maggiore, Programmer, Film Forum 

Alissa Wilkinson, Film Critic, Vox 

Nominating Committee for Best Actor and Best Actress: 

A.A. Dowd, Film Editor, The A.V. Club 

David Ehrlich, Senior Film Critic, Indiewire 

Tim Grierson, Senior U.S. Critic, Screen International; Chief Film Critic, Paste 

Sheila O’Malley, Writer/Film Critic, RogerEbert.com, The Sheila Variations 

Alison Willmore, Film Critic, BuzzFeed News; Co-host Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit 

Nominating Committee for Breakthrough Actor: 

Bilge Ebiri, Film Critic, Village Voice 

David Sims, Senior Associate Editor, The Atlantic 

Brian Tallerico, Film Editor, RogerEbert.com 

Katie Walsh, Film Critic, Tribune Content Agency, Los Angeles Times 

Emily Yoshida, Film Critic, New York Magazine/Vulture.com 

Nominating Committee for Breakthrough Series – Long Form: 

Sophie Gilbert, Staff Writer, Culture, The Atlantic 

Tim Goodman, Chief Television Critic, The Hollywood Reporter 

Liz Shannon Miller, TV Editor, Indiewire 

Sonia Saraiya, TV Critic, Variety 

Matt Zoller Seitz, Editor-in-Chief, RogerEbert.com; TV Critic, New York Magazine/Vulture.com 

Nominating Committee for Breakthrough Series – Short Form: 

Jude Dry, Reporter, Critic, Indiewire 

Randi Kleiner, Founder & CEO, SeriesFest 

Paula Mejia, Associate Editor, Atlas Obscura; Author, Jesus and Mary Chain’s Psychocandy 

Gotham Independent Film Audience Award 

IFP members will determine the Gotham Independent Film Audience Award with nominees comprised of the 14 nominated films in the Best Feature, Best Documentary, and Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award categories.  

Breakthrough Series – Short Form 

IFP members will determine the winner from among the five nominees for this award by viewing and voting for them online. 

All IFP current, active members at the Individual Level and above will be eligible to vote for these audience-determined categories. Voting will take place online from November 17th at 12:01 AM EST and conclude on November 25th at 5:00 PM EST. In addition, IFP will be scheduling screenings of the nominated films for IFP members in the theater at the Made in NY Media Center by IFP in Brooklyn. These screenings will take place from November 10-21.   

Sponsors 

The Premier Sponsor of the 2017 IFP Gotham Awards is The New York Times, and the Platinum Sponsors are the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Office of Film, Music and Entertainment and Greenslate. Additionally, the awards will be promoted nationally in an eight-page special advertising section in The New York Times in November 2017. 

2017 IFP Gotham Awards – Alphabetical List of Nominated Films & Series 

555 

Breakthrough Series – Short Form 

Atlanta 

Breakthrough Series – Long Form 

Beach Rats 

Breakthrough Actor 

Better Things 

Breakthrough Series – Long Form 

The Big Sick 

Best Screenplay 

Brad’s Status 

Best Screenplay 

Call Me by Your Name 

Best Feature 

Best Screenplay 

Breakthrough Actor 

Columbus 

Breakthrough Director 

Best Screenplay 

Best Actress 

Dear White People 

Breakthrough Series – Long Form 

The Disaster Artist 

Best Actor 

Ex Libris – The New York Public Library 

Best Documentary 

Fleabag 

Breakthrough Series – Long Form 

The Florida Project 

Best Feature 

Best Actor 

Breakthrough Actor 

Get Out 

Best Feature 

Breakthrough Director 

Best Screenplay 

Best Actor 

Good Time 

Best Feature 

Best Actor 

I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore 

Best Actress 

I, Tonya 

Best Feature 

Best Actress 

Inconceivable 

Breakthrough Series – Short Form 

It Comes at Night 

Breakthrough Actor 

Junior 

Breakthrough Series – Short Form 

Lady Bird 

Breakthrough Director 

Best Screenplay 

Best Actress 

Let Me Die a Nun 

Breakthrough Series – Short Form 

Lucky 

Best Actor 

Marjorie Prime 

Best Actress 

Menashe 

Breakthrough Director 

The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) 

Best Actor 

Mudbound 

Jury Award Ensemble Performance  

Breakthrough Actor 

Novitiate 

Breakthrough Director 

Rat Film 

Best Documentary 

Search Party 

Breakthrough Series – Long Form 

The Strange Eyes of Dr. Myes 

Breakthrough Series – Short Form 

Strong Island 

Best Documentary 

Whose Streets? 

Best Documentary 

The Work 

Best Documentary 

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 IFP Week, IFP Labs, Filmmaker Magazine,  IFP Gotham 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 an ever-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 39-year history, IFP has supported over 12,000 projects and offered resources to more than 20,000+ filmmakers. More info at www.ifp.org 

About the IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards 
The IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards, 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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