17th Annual Gotham Awards Unveil Nominees for Year’s Best Independent Films

Kicking off the film awards season, IFP, the nation’s largest membership organization of independent filmmakers, today announced the nominees for the 17th Annual Gotham Awards (http://gotham.ifp.org). The awards will be presented at Steiner Studios in New York on Tuesday, November 27, 2007.

Garnering three separate nominations – the most this year – is Great World of Sound, Craig Zobel’s directorial debut which was nominated for Best Feature, Breakthrough Director and Breakthrough Actor.

Three films received two nominations each: Day Night Day Night directed by Julia Loktev (Breakthrough Director and Breakthrough Actor), Into the Wild, directed by Sean Penn (Best Feature and Breakthrough Actor), and Margot at the Wedding, directed by Noah Baumbach (Best Feature and Best Ensemble Cast)….

A total of 28 films received nominations in six categories: Best Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor, Best Ensemble Cast, and Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You.

Presented by IFP, the Gotham Awards provide a critical spotlight and important boost to breakthrough independent films, such as last year’s Best Feature winner Half Nelson, which went on to garner numerous critics’ awards and an Oscar® nomination for its star, Ryan Gosling.

“2007 was an incredibly strong year for independent film,” said Michelle Byrd, executive director of IFP. “Ranging from the small gems produced on micro-budgets to extraordinary films from specialty divisions, the nominees all share the type of creative vision and risk-taking that are a hallmark of independent film.”

In addition to the competitive awards, the 17th Annual Gotham Awards will also present Gotham Tributes to six individuals in recognition of their influential work in the film industry: Actor Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men, Love in the Time of Cholera), film critic Roger Ebert, production designer Mark Friedberg (Across the Universe, The Darjeeling Limited), New York’s Honorable Mayor Michael Bloomberg, director Mira Nair (The Namesake, Monsoon Wedding, Mississippi Masala) and Jonathan Sehring, President of IFC Entertainment and creator of IFC Center.

To celebrate New York City’s role as the world capital of independent film, the 17th Annual Gotham Awards will be held for the first time at Brooklyn’s Steiner Studios, a symbol of New York’s growing film production prowess.

Selecting this year’s nominees were 19 critics, journalists, and film programmers (see list below). Final award recipients will be determined by separate juries of writers, directors, actors, producers and others directly involved in making films. The recipient of The Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You award will be determined by the editors of Filmmaker magazine, a publication of IFP.

The 17th Annual Gotham Award nominees are:

Best Feature

* Great World of Sound — Craig Zobel, director; Melissa Palmer, David Gordon Green, Richard Wright, Craig Zobel, producers (Magnolia Pictures)
* I’m Not There — Todd Haynes, director; Christine Vachon, James D. Stern, John Sloss, John Goldwyn, producers (The Weinstein Company)
* Into the Wild — Sean Penn, director; Sean Penn, Art Linson, Bill Pohlad, producers (Paramount Vantage & River Road Entertainment)
* Margot at the Wedding — Noah Baumbach, director; Scott Rudin, producer (Paramount Vantage)
* The Namesake — Mira Nair, director; Lydia Dean Pilcher, Mira Nair, producers (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Best Documentary

* The Devil Came on Horseback — Annie Sundberg & Ricki Stern, directors; Ricki Stern, Annie Sundberg, Gretchen Wallace, Jane Wells, producers (International Film Circuit)
* Jimmy Carter Man from Plains — Jonathan Demme, director; Jonathan Demme, Neda Armian, producers (Sony Pictures Classics)
* My Kid Could Paint That — Amir Bar-Lev, producer/director (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Sicko — Michael Moore, director; Michael Moore, Meghan O’Hara, producers (The Weinstein Company)
* Taxi to the Dark Side — Alex Gibney, director; Alex Gibney, Eva Orner, Susannah Shipman, producers (THINKFilm)

Best Ensemble Cast

* Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead — Albert Finney, Rosemary Harris, Ethan Hawke, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Brian F. O’Byrne, Amy Ryan, 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, John Turturro (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, director; Shawn Alexander, Gabriel “Swede” Sedgwick, Nicky Arzeu Akmal, Lanre Olabisi, producers
* Frownland — Ronald Bronstein, director; Marc Raybin, producer
* Loren Cass — Chris Fuller, director; Chris Fuller, Frank Craft, Kayla Tabish, producers
* Mississippi Chicken — John Fiege, director; John Fiege, Anita Grabowski, Victor Moyers, producers
* Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa — Jeremy Stulberg & Randy Stulberg, directors; Eric Juhola, Jeremy Stulberg, Randy Stulberg, producers

The nominating committees for the Gotham Awards announced above are as follows:

Nominating Committee for Best Feature and Best Ensemble Cast:

* Noah Cowan, Co-Director, Toronto International Film Festival
* Cynthia Fuchs, Film Critic, PopMatters, Common Sense Media
* Owen Gleiberman, Film Critic, Entertainment Weekly
* Dennis Lim, Film Journalist and Editorial Director, The Museum of the Moving Image

Nominating Committee for Breakthrough Director and Breakthrough Actor:

* Florence Almozini, Curator, BAMcinématek
* Robert Koehler, Film Critic, Variety
* Nathan Lee, Film Critic, Village Voice
* Rajendra Roy, Chief Curator, Department of Film and Media, Museum of Modern Art

Nominating Committee for Best Documentary:

* Nicole Guillemet, Programming & Documentary Producing Consultant
* Mary Kerr, Executive Director, The Flaherty Seminars
* Andrew O’Hehir, Senior Writer, Salon.com
* Matt Zoller Seitz, Film Critic, The New York Times, and publisher, The House Next Door

Nominating Committee for Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You:

* Josh Siegel, Assistant Curator, Department of Film and Media, Museum of Modern Art
* Members of the editorial staff of Filmmaker Magazine: Scott Macaulay (Editor-in-Chief), Mary Glucksman, Jason Guerrasio, Brandon Harris, Ray Pride, Alicia Van Couvering

2007 Gotham Awards – Alphabetical List of Nominated Films

* August the First — Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You nominee
* Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead — Best Ensemble Cast nominee
* Day Night Day Night — Breakthrough Actor nominee; Breakthrough Director nominee
* The Devil Came on Horseback — Best Documentary nominee
* Frownland — Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You nominee
* Great World of Sound — Best Feature nominee; Breakthrough Actor nominee; Breakthrough Director nominee
* I’m Not There — Best Feature nominee
* Into the Wild — Best Feature nominee; Breakthrough Actor nominee
* Jimmy Carter Man from Plains — Best Documentary nominee
* Juno — Breakthrough Actor nominee
* The Last Winter — Best Ensemble Cast nominee
* Loren Cass — Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You nominee
* Margot at the Wedding — Best Feature nominee; Best Ensemble Cast nominee
* Mississippi Chicken — Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You nominee
* Munyurangabo — Breakthrough Director nominee
* My Kid Could Paint That — Best Documentary nominee
* The Namesake — Best Feature nominee
* Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa — Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You nominee
* Owl and the Sparrow — Breakthrough Director nominee
* The Savages — Best Ensemble Cast nominee
* Seraphim Falls — Breakthrough Director nominee
* Sicko — Best Documentary nominee
* Talk to Me — Best Ensemble Cast nominee
* Taxi to the Dark Side — Best Documentary nominee
* Teeth — Breakthrough Actor nominee