Chadwick Boseman, Nicole Beharie, Radha Blank, Channing Godfrey Peoples Among 2020 Gotham Awards Nominees
In an awards year altered by COVID-19, the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) announced today nominations for the upcoming IFP Gotham Awards with Kelly Reichardt’s period drama, First Cow, up for feature, screenplay and acting awards. In addition to First Cow, the top feature category also includes The Assistant, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Nomadland and Relic.
The Gothams, which will be held January 11, typically kick off Oscar season in November. The usual rhythms of the season are different this year and most awards, including the Oscars in April, are likely to be conducted virtually due to safety concerns. The Gothams will be held at their longtime home, Cipriani Wall Street, but without in-person attendees.
In the best actor category, Chadwick Boseman received a posthumous nomination for his work in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Radha Blank received multiple nods for Breakthrough Director and Best Screenplay and Channing Godfrey Peoples and Nicole Beharie got nods for their Juneteenth film in the Breakthrough Director and Best Actress categories respectively.
Now in their 30th year, the awards are produced by the Independent Filmmaker Project.
“We congratulate the 2020 IFP Gotham Award nominees. In this unprecedented year we look forward to bringing the industry together and shining a light on some incredible films and television shows. We are proud to be celebrating our 30th anniversary in our resilient city, and continuing the core mission of IFP, independent storytelling.” IFP executive director Jeffrey Sharp said.
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 IFP Gotham Award recipients.
Annual Gotham Actor Tributes, Director Tribute and Industry Tribute honors will be announced at a later date.
The 2020 IFP Gotham Award nominations are:
Best Feature
“The Assistant” – Kitty Green, director; Scott Macaulay, James Schamus, P. Jennifer Dana, Ross Jacobson, producers (Bleecker Street)
“First Cow” – Kelly Reichardt, director; Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani, producers (A24)
“Never Rarely Sometimes Always” – Eliza Hittman, director; Adele Romanski, Sara Murphy, producers (Focus Features)
“Nomadland” – Chloé Zhao, director; Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, Chloé Zhao, producers (Searchlight Pictures)
“Relic” – Natalie Erika James, director; Anna Mcleish, Sarah Shaw, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riva Marker, producers (IFC Midnight)
Best Documentary
“76 Days” – Hao Wu, Weixi Chen, Anonymous, directors; Hao Wu, Jean Tsien, producers (MTV Documentary Films)
“City Hall” – Frederick Wiseman, director; Frederick Wiseman, Karen Konicek, producers (Zipporah Films)
“Our Time Machine” – Yang Sun, S. Leo Chiang directors; S. Leo Chiang, Yang Sun, producers (Passion River Films)
“A Thousand Cuts” – Ramona S. Diaz, director; Ramona S. Diaz, Leah Marino, Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, Carolyn Hepburn, producers (PBS Distribution | FRONTLINE )
“Time” – Garrett Bradley, director; Lauren Domino, Kellen Quinn, Garrett Bradley, producers (Amazon Studios)
Best International Feature
“Bacurau” – Kleber Mendonça Filho, Juliano Dornelles, directors; Emilie Lesclaux, Saïd Ben Saïd, Michel Merkt, producers (Kino Lorber)
“Beanpole” – Kantemir Balagov, director; Alexander Rodnyansky, Sergey Melkumov, producers (Kino Lorber)
“Cuties” (Mignonnes) – Maïmouna Doucouré, director; Zangro, producer (Netflix)
“Identifying Features” – Fernanda Valadez, director; Astrid Rondero, producer (Kino Lorber)
“Martin Eden” – Pietro Marcello, director; Pietro Marcello, Beppe Caschetto, Thomas Ordonneau, Michael Weber, Viola Fügen, producers (Kino Lorber)
“Wolfwalkers” – Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, directors; Paul Young, Nora Twomey, Tomm Moore, Stéphan Roelants, producers (Apple)
Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Radha Blank, “The Forty-Year-Old Version” (Netflix)
Channing Godfrey Peoples, “Miss Juneteenth” (Vertical Entertainment)
Alex Thompson, “Saint Frances” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Carlo Mirabella-Davis, “Swallow” (IFC Films)
Andrew Patterson, “The Vast of Night” (Amazon Studios)
Best Screenplay
“Bad Education” – Mike Makowsky (HBO)
“First Cow” – Jon Raymond, Kelly Reichardt (A24)
“The Forty-Year-Old Version” – Radha Blank (Netflix)
“Fourteen” – Dan Sallitt (Grasshopper Film)
“The Vast of Night” – James Montague, Craig Sanger (Amazon Studios)
Best Actor
Riz Ahmed, “Sound of Metal” (Amazon Studios)
Chadwick Boseman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (Netflix)
Jude Law, “The Nest” (IFC Films)
John Magaro, “First Cow” (A24)
Jesse Plemons, “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” (Netflix)
Best Actress
Nicole Beharie, “Miss Juneteenth” (Vertical Entertainment)
Jessie Buckley, “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” (Netflix)
Yuh-Jung Youn, “Minari” (A24)
Carrie Coon, “The Nest” (IFC Films)
Frances McDormand, “Nomadland” (Searchlight Pictures)
Breakthrough Actor
Jasmine Batchelor, “The Surrogate” (Monument Releasing)
Kingsley Ben-Adir, “One Night in Miami…” (Amazon Studios)
Sidney Flanigan, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” (Focus Features)
Orion Lee, “First Cow” (A24)
Kelly O’Sullivan, “Saint Frances” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Breakthrough Series – Long Format (over 40 minutes)
“The Great” – Tony McNamara, creator; Tony McNamara, Marian Macgowan, Mark Winemaker, Elle Fanning, Brittany Kahan Ward, Doug Mankoff, Andrew Spaulding, Josh Kesselman, Ron West, Matt Shakman, executive producers (Hulu)
“Immigration Nation” – Christina Clusiau, Shaul Schwarz, Dan Cogan, Jenny Raskin, Brandon Hill, Christian Thompson, executive producers (Netflix)
“P-Valley” – Katori Hall, creator; Katori Hall, Dante Di Loreto, Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, Liz W. Garcia, executive producers (STARZ)
“Unorthodox” – Anna Winger, Alexa Karolinski, creators; Anna Winger, Henning Kamm, executive producers (Netflix)
“Watchmen” – Damon Lindelof, Creator for Television; Tom Spezialy, Nicole Kassell, Stephen Williams, Joseph E. Iberti, executive producers (HBO)
Breakthrough Series – Short Format (under 40 minutes)
“Betty” – Crystal Moselle, Lesley Arfin, Igor Srubshchik, Jason Weinberg, executive producers (HBO)
“Dave” – Dave Burd, Jeff Schaffer, creators; Dave Burd, Jeff Schaffer, Saladin K. Patterson, Greg Mottola, Kevin Hart, Marty Bowen, Scooter Braun, Mike Hertz, Scott Manson, James Shin, executive producers (FX Networks)
“I May Destroy You” – Michaela Coel, creator; Michaela Coel, Phil Clarke, Roberto Troni, executive producers (HBO)
“Taste the Nation” – Padma Lakshmi, David Shadrack Smith, Sarina Roma, executive producers (Hulu)
“Work in Progress” – Abby McEnany, Tim Mason, creators, Abby McEnany, Tim Mason, Lilly Wachowski, Lawrence Mattis, Josh Adler, Ashley Berns, Julia Sweeney, Tony Hernandez, executive producers (SHOWTIME)
Gotham Audience Award
IFP members will determine the Gotham Audience Award with nominees comprised of the 20 nominated films in the Best Feature, Best Documentary, Best International Feature, and Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award categories. All IFP current, active members are eligible to vote. Voting will take place online in December.