Awards season got underway Monday morning with the announcement of nominees for the Gotham Awards.
Craig Zobel’s “Great World of Sound” nabbed top praise from IFP with three noms — top feature, director and actor (Kene Holliday). Julia Loktev’s “Day Night Day Night” scored noms for director and actor (Luisa Williams) while “Into the Wild” picked up noms for feature and actor (Emile Hirsch).
“2007 was an incredibly strong year for independent film,” said Michelle Byrd, exec 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.”
The Gotham Awards has chosen to honor six industry vets for their work in film: actor Javier Bardem, critic Roger Ebert, production designer Mark Friedberg, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, director Mira Nair and Jonathan Sehring, creator of the IFC Center.
The awards will be presented at Steiner Studios, chosen to mark the city’s growth in film production.
The kudos will be held Nov. 27, 2007.
The 17th Annual Gotham Award nominees are:
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)
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)
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
