With the Gotham Awards ceremony, the season is officially underway. It was a night marked by studio intrusions into a space heretofore reserved for indie filmmaking, a "spread the wealth" attitude, and one controversy. When introducing a prize to Killers of the Flower Moon, Robert De Niro found his speech censored – presumably by Apple – but that didn't stop him from saying everything he had in mind. As soon as the video package wrapped, De Niro made sure to read his original text, complete with anti-Trump sentiment and John Wayne shade.
Some surprising results included a victory for A.V. Rockwell's A Thousand and One over Past Lives in the Breakthrough Director category, though the Celine Song film still took home the night's biggest prize. On the acting front, Charles Melton won Outstanding Supporting Performance for May December and charmed the whole room, while Lily Gladstone took the Lead Performance prize for The Unknown Country. Even when she's not representing Martin Scorsese's latest, voters are eager to recognize the actress…
Check the complete nominations here, but now, let's look at this year's winners.
BEST FEATURE
PAST LIVES, Celine Song, David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler & Christine Vachon
Song's film won its first of many awards this season. At the very least, one can expect a lot of First Feature honors on the horizon. A Best Picture nomination doesn't seem unlikely either, with how audiences have reacted to the drama about South Korean childhood friends meeting for the first time in years, an emotional day around New York.
OUTSTANDING LEAD PERFORMANCE
Lily Gladstone, THE UNKNOWN COUNTRY
May this be the beginning of an amazing few months for Lily Gladstone. Maybe other awards organizations will remember her stellar work in this underseen indie alongside her Oscar-hopeful turn in Killers of the Flower Moon.
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
Charles Melton, MAY DECEMBER
Ever since Cannes, critics' enthusiasm for Melton as a potential contender has felt a tad overblown. AMPAS isn't always kind to Haynes movies, and, as Nathaniel mentions in his predictions, voters tend to turn their noses at beautiful young male actors. However, a recent groundswell of support, smart campaigning, and charming presence have made him look more viable for gold. Can he transcend the Academy's anti-hunk tendencies? Time will tell.
BEST DOCUMENTARY
FOUR DAUGHTERS, Nadim Cheikhrouha & Kaouther Ben Hania
Beyond competing for Best Documentary honors, Four Daughters is also Tunisia's official Oscar submission, a fact the director made sure to get into her speech. In recent years, awards organizations have been more open to recognizing documentaries and docu-fiction hybrids in their international categories, so here's hoping Kaouther Ben Hania's fascinating picture gets its time in the sun.
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
ANATOMY OF A FALL, Justine Truet, Marie-Ange Luciani & David Thion
BEST SCREENPLAY
ANATOMY OF A FALL, Arthur Harari & Justine Triet
Anatomy of a Fall was the only feature to win more than one award at this year's Gothams, triumphing over nomination-leader All of Us Strangers, among other big titles. Since Triet wasn't in attendance, her life partner and co-writer Arthur Harari accepted both prizes, making sure to credit the director's genius along the way.
BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTOR
A.V. Rockwell, A THOUSAND AND ONE
Maybe the night's biggest surprise, even Rockwell seemed shocked at the jury's decision. Her tearful speech was one of the ceremony's highlights, and it'll hopefully convince more people to watch the beautiful Sundance winner.
BREAKTHROUGH SERIES, OVER 40 MINUTES
A SMALL LIGHT, Peter Traugott, Susanna Fogel, Joan Rater, Alon Shtruzman, Lisa Roos, Avi Nir, William Harper & Tony Phelan
BREAKTHROUGH SERIES, UNDER 40 MINUTES
BEEF, Jacke Schreier, Lee Sing Jin, Ali Wong, Steven Yeun & Ravi Nandan
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SERIES
Ali Wong, BEEF
In TV-land, it was a good night for miniseries, with A Small Light and Beef triumphing over multi-season shows. Along with Triet and Gladstone, Wong was one of the Gothams' few double winners of 2023.
CULTURAL ICON AND CREATOR
Bradley Cooper, MAESTRO
GLOBAL ICON AND CREATOR
Greta Gerwig, BARBIE
HISTORICAL ICON AND CREATOR
Martin Scorsese & Lily Gladstone, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
ICON AND CREATOR TRIBUTE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
George C. Wolf, RUSTIN
ICON AND CREATOR TRIBUTE FOR INNOVATION
Michael Mann, FERRARI
VISIONARY ICON AND CREATOR
Ben Affleck, AIR
What did you think of this year's Gotham Award Winners? Will they affect the coming season, or will their results be forgotten as bigger prizes come around?