GothamAwards Tagged Articles at Cinematical

IFP's 17th annual Gotham Awards were held Tuesday night in Brooklyn, honoring the best in independent film for 2007. With only six categories, the Gothams seem like a pretty reasonable alternative to the bloated spectacles of certain other award ceremonies I could name.

Sean Penn's Into the Wild (pictured) took Best Picture honors, beating out Great World of Sound, I'm Not There, Margot at the Wedding, and The Namesake. Michael Moore's healthcare exposé Sicko won Best Documentary, up against The Devil Came on Horseback, Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains, My Kid Could Paint That, and Taxi to the Dark Side.

Since this is the first awards event of the season, a victory here could be seen as a good sign for the Golden Globes and Oscars. Sicko was probably a shoo-in for an Oscar nod anyway, but Into the Wild definitely needed the boost, since the field of excellent films this year is especially crowded.

The Best Ensemble Cast category had some heavyweights -- Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, The Last Winter, Margot at the Wedding, The Savages, and Talk to Me -- and apparently the juries couldn't choose, because Before the Devil and Talk to Me shared the award.

Craig Zobel was named Breakthrough Director for his music-biz satire Great World of Sound, which had more nominations (three) than any other film. Juno's Ellen Page took the Breakthrough Actor award.

The sixth category is my personal favorite: Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You, honoring a flick that's been well-received at festivals but that hasn't gotten distribution yet. The winner was Frownland, Ronald Bronstein's dyspeptic do-it-yourself quasi-comedy about a neurotic, stammering mess of a man. I saw it at South By Southwest and loathed every frame of it; others have adored it. It's that kind of movie.

The Hollywood Reporter has more details on the ceremony itself, which also included tributes to Roger Ebert, director Mira Nair, actor Javier Bardem, production designer Mark Friedberg, IFC Center founder Jonathan Sehring, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The ceremony will be broadcast on NYC TV and The Documentary Channel on Dec. 4 and 8.

Independent film has become a growing force in mainstream cinema. There used to be a large chasm between indies and mainstream, where only the most lucky could jump the divide into financial success. Now, it's a lot more common. Indie cinema has gained mainstream cred, to the point where they're not a stepping-stone for no-name talent, but a vehicle for well-known actors to re-invigorate their careers. It is, therefore, not surprising that big business has begun to find its way into the indie world, and as the divide lessens, some are not happy with it.

The IFP is an organization created in 1979 that exists to promote American, independent film production. They're also the group that brings us the Gotham Awards. At its inception, the awards were for independent productions with "a little local flavor." But that was sixteen years ago. Today, it's more like the Oscars with an amalgam of cheap, independent features and large, pricey productions. The mission statement seems to be lost, as former IFP member Tim Hope rues: "I don't know what the Gotham Awards mean anymore."

When the awards are held tonight, the little guys will be up against big competition. Low budget dramas like Half Nelson are set to compete against the $40 million Marie Antoinette and $90 million The Departed for best picture. Michelle Byrd, executive director of IFP, is said to want no limits on what can qualify, which is strange coming from someone who heads an organization created to help independent film. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top tonight. While everyone is wondering if big budget will beat out small budget, I'm anxious to see who will take the ensemble category, which has the likes of For Your Consideration and A Prairie Home Companion competing against the very Gotham and very naked Shortbus.

Nominations have gone out for the 16th annual Gotham Awards, with Ryan Fleck's Half Nelson leading the pack. Pic, which revolves around the strong bond formed between a drug-addicted high school teacher and one of his students, picked up three nominations: Best Feature, Breakthrough Director (Ryan Fleck) and Breakthrough Actor (Shareeka Epps). This year's ceremony will be held on November 29 at New York's PIER SIXTY, Chelsea Piers. (Hey, I got married right next door at the Lighthouse!)

The Gotham Awards, which are presented by IFP and look to "celebrate the authentic voices behind and in front of the camera in films made this year" separate their awards into six categories: Best Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Director, Best Ensemble Cast and, my personal favorite, Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You. Also on the agenda, Kate Winslet and Edward Norton will receive Gotham Tributes, while Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu will receive Gotham's first annual World Cinema Tribute for contributing "significantly in transforming their native cinema of Mexico."

Joining Half Nelson with multiple nods were Babel (Best Ensemble Cast, Breakthrough Actor, Rinko Kikuchi), Little Miss Sunshine (Best Ensemble Cast, Breakthrough Actor, Abigail Breslin) and In Between Days (Breakthrough Director, So Yoing Kim, Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You). Days has yet to find domestic distribution. So, what did they leave out?

Full lists of nominees after the jump.