You might think that October is too early to get nominations for Best of the Year but you'd be wrong.
Diary of a Teenage Girl scored big leading the Gotham nominations
At least according to the IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards. They're the East Coast answer to the Indie Spirit Awards and perhaps we're imagining it but it's almost as if they announce earlier every year. They're also juried which is why their nominations are sometimes really cool / odd. Like most of the Oscar precursors worth loving, Gotham marches to their own drum. So what's the takeaway and reward for these films? A fresh flag planted down that you really should watch them and for indie films, that's a big deal.
The biggest winners this morning are surely Tangerine (3 nominations) and The Diary of a Teenage Girl (4 nominations). Both were hits at Sundance and well reviewed when they arrived but both are small enough to slip through "Best of" cracks on critics list and with awardage. But both are strong enough filmmaking visions and entertaining and even accessible enough that with enough concentrated attention it will be possible to imagine them cracking a surprise big nomination somewhere... like, say, The Golden Globes.
The other big winner is everyone -- we finally have an awards lineup that in interested in female voices. Full list follows
Four of the five feature nominees are about women, two films about lesbians received nominations, and female directors, documentarians, and screenwriters are also nominated.
Of the films that did well with Gotham today, most have already made the theatrical rounds but three have yet to open: the indie James White and two Oscar seeking biggies: Tom McCarthy's sober journalism drama / sharp crowd-pleaser Spotlight, and Todd Haynes's swoon-worthy 50s melodrama Carol. They all open in November so watch for them in your local listings as they say.
(Clicking on the titles will take you to all related articles on that topic)
BEST FEATURE
• Carol
• The Diary of a Teenage Girl
• Heaven Knows What
• Spotlight
• Tangerine
BEST DOCUMENTARY
• Approaching the Elephant
• Cartel Land
• Heart of a Dog
• Listen to Me Marlon
• The Look of Silence
BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTOR AWARD
• Desiree Akhavan, Appropriate Behavior
• Jonas Carpigano, Mediterranea
• Marielle Heller, The Diary of a Teenage Girl
• John Magary, The Mend
• Josh Mond, James White
SCREENPLAY
• Carol, Phyllis Nagy
• The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Marielle Heller
• Love & Mercy, Oren Moverman and Michael Alan Lerner
• Spotlight, Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer
• While We're Young, Noah Baumbach
ACTOR
• Christopher Abbot, James White
• Kevin Corrigan, Results
• Paul Dano, Love & Mercy
• Peter Sarsgaard, Experimenter
• Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
ACTRESS
• Cate Blanchett, Carol
• Blythe Danner, I'll See You In My Dreams
• Brie Larson, Room
• Bel Powley, The Diary of a Teenage Girl
• Lily Tomlin, Grandma
• Kristen Wiig, Welcome to Me
Mya & Kitana in TANGERINE, both nominated!
BREAKTHROUGH ACTOR
• Rory Culkin, Gabriel
• Arielle Holmes, Heaven Knows What
• Lola Kirke, Mistress America
• Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Tangerine
• Mya Taylor, Tangerine
SPECIAL GOTHAM JURY AWARD
To the ensemble of Spotlight: Mark Rufflao, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schrieber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, and Brian D'Arcy James (ah, leaving Billy Crudup and Jamey Sheridan out? That's too bad. They're both terrific in the picture)
TRIBUTES
This year they'll be honoring Steve Golin, Todd Haynes, Helen Mirren, and Robert Redford in addition to passing out the awards above. The ceremony will be held on November 30th in NYC.