Gotham Nominations Spread the Wealth / Kick Off Awards Season

by Nathaniel R

THE INVITE nabs four nominations at the Gotham Awards

Hi strangers! I know I’ve been absent but I will now be inching back into the site. It's that time of year again! The Gotham Award nominations are in, unofficially kicking off “awards season”. Awards season continues to always be both shape-shifting and staying exactly the same. Each year is familiar in terms of narrative tropes, genre "slots" and more, but also brand new with a new set of films and constant awards show tinkering with rules and categories! Usually with awards shows one or two films get the headlines as “leaders” but the Gothams have so few categories (just 10 really) that no film can truly claim to be "leading" the pack this time around. Japan’s Oscar submission All of a Sudden, the Nigerian “Mrs Dalloway” adaptation Clarissa, Olivia Wilde’s open marriage dramedy The Invite, Mike Leigh’s possible swan song Tender Loving Care, and the festival darling La Gradiva share the “lead” status with four nods apiece.  If you look at it by distributors the “leaders” are more glaringly obvious; A24 and NEON, distributors who have carved out recognizable identities and developed their own loyal fanbases, lead with 15 and 14 nominations respectively. Let's talk about each category...

Feature

• Clarissa (NEON)

• Club Kid (A24)

• The Debut (A24)

• Dreams in Nightmares (Lumette Films)

• The Invite (A24)

• Josephine (Sumerian Pictures)

• Mouse (IFC)

• Paper Tiger (NEON)

• Primetime (A24)

• Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (MUBI)

• Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (Amazon MGM Studios)

11 nominees is a bit much but I guess they gotta fill awards tables? Just two years ago they restricted themselves to 5 nominees.  It’s difficult to say how much Gotham nominations help films throughout awards season, other than to grant them early exposure; if it puts these films  on more audience members radar and at the top of the screener pile for other awards organizations voters than it’s a win. The most obscure nominee here is definitely Dreams in Nightmares, a Midwest-set drama which premiered two years at the BlackStar Film Festival and which was apparently  released in theaters this past August. Anyway, good for it for breaking through the noise! 

It remains to be seen if Josephine can revive its Sundance buzz to make an impact with other organizations but this is a good start. A few of the nominees (Club Kid, The Debut, The Invite) feel like good bets for continued awards season hoopla  from organizations large and small while others (Clarissa, Paper Tiger, Primetime, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother) feel more “it’s a toss up!” in terms of possible impact. This time of year is exciting because we’re still free to imagine lots of possible outcomes before various awards organizations start repeating each other as we build toward Oscar coronations.

Which of these films might win the Gotham? The last ten winners were One Battle After Another, A Different Man, Past Lives, Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Lost Daughter, Nomadland, Marriage Story, The Rider, Call Me By Your Name, and Moonlight so we can safely say that Gotham voters a) generally have good taste and b) lean towards Oscar-friendly titles with 40% of those films going on to win Best Picture a few months later at the Academy Awards.

International Feature

Will ALL OF A SUDDEN follow in Drive My Car's footsteps toward Oscar glory?

• All of A Sudden (NEON) - Japan’s Oscar submission

• Ben’Imana (Alexander) - Rwanda’s Oscar submission

• Blue Heron (Janus Films) - Canada

• Everytime (1-2 Special) - Austria’s Oscar submission

• Fatherland (MUBI) - Poland’s Oscar submission

• Filipiñana (Kino Lorber) - Philippine’s Oscar submission

• La Gradiva (1-2 Special) - France/Italy

• Minotaur (MUBI) - France’s Oscar submission

• Possible Love (Netflix) - South Korea’s Oscar submission

• Tender Loving Care (Bleecker Street) - UK

Tender Loving Care stands out for being in the English language while the rest of the international productions are largely aligned with this year’s upcoming competition for Best International Feature. The exceptions are the critically acclaimed French-Italian production La Gradiva about a student trip to Pompeii  and Canada’s mesmerizing poignant drama Blue Heron (Canada) which centers on an Hungarian immigrant family. 

Documentary Feature

• Closure (1-2 Special)

• A Fox Under a Pink Moon (Kino Lorber)

• NAZA (NEON)

• Once Upon a Time in Harlem (NEON)

• You Can See Everything (A24)

The latter three (at least) are looking like strong contenders for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar race given the consistent buzz thus far. 

Director

• Ryusuke Hamaguchi, All of a Sudden (NEON)

• Sandra Wollner, Everytime (1-2 Special)

• Andrey Zvyagintsev, Minotaur (MUBI)

• Jane Schoenbrun, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (MUBI)

• Mike Leigh, Tender Loving Care (Bleecker Street)

Interestingly, Jane Schoenbrum aside,  the director’s list is pulled from the Best International Feature nominees rather than the Best Feature titles.

Breakthrough Director

• Sophy Romvari, Blue Heron (Janus Films)

• Jordan Firstman, Club Kid (A24)

• Aleshea Harris, Is God Is (Amazon MGM Studios)

• Marine Atlan, La Gradiva (1-2 Special)

• Joel Alfonso Vargas, Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo) (Oscilloscope Laboratories)

• John Early, Maddie’s Secret (Magnolia Pictures)

So happy to see Sophy Romvari honored. 

Original Screenplay

Can POSSIBLE LOVE break the Oscar curse that has prevented South Korea from receiving as many nominations as it has deserved?

• Everytime, Sandra Wollner (1-2 Special)

• La Gradiva, Marine Atlan, Anne Brouillet (1-2 Special)

• Possible Love, Lee Chang-dong, Oh Jung-mi (Netflix)

• Tender Loving Care, Mike Leigh (Bleecker Street)

• Wild Horse Nine, Martin McDonagh (Searchlight Pictures)

Interesting that Wild Horse Nine turns up here but not in Feature.

Adapted Screenplay

• All of a Sudden, Ryusuke Hamaguchi (NEON)

• Clarissa, Chuko Esiri (NEON)

• The Invite, Rashida Jones, Will McCormack (A24)

• Minotaur, Simon Lyashenko, Andrey Zvyagintsev (MUBI)

• Primetime, Ajon Singh (A24)

What an exciting varied line-up! 

Outstanding Lead Performance

Nice to see Gillian Anderson in "Lead" where she belongs for the TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH duet.

• Mahershala Ali, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (Amazon MGM Studios)

• Gillian Anderson, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (MUBI)

• Jeon Do-yeon, Possible Love (Netflix)

• John Early, Maddie’s Secret (Magnolia Pictures)

• John Malkovich, Wild Horse Nine (Searchlight Pictures)

• Ian McKellen, The Christophers (NEON)

• Julianne Moore, The Debut (A24)

• Sophie Okonedo, Clarissa (NEON)

• Andrew Scott, Elsinore (Focus Features)

• John Turturro, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York (Sony Pictures Classics)

Wonderful to see Sir Ian McKellen included for the early release. It’s his best performance in years. This is the first time since the category became genderless in 2021 that men  have outnumber women in this category.

Outstanding Supporting Performance

Sandra Hüller receives the first of what are likely multiple nominations this awards season for FATHERLAND (though she'll also be in the conversation for ROSE and PROJECT HAIL MARY)

• Tom Courtenay, Queen at Sea (Greenwich Entertainment)

• Esmé Creed-Miles, Sense and Sensibility (Focus Features)

• Penélope Cruz, The Invite (A24)

• Adam Driver, Paper Tiger (NEON)

• Andrew Garfield, Artificial (NEON)

• Skyler Gisondo, Primetime (A24)

• Sandra Hüller, Fatherland (MUBI)

• Kate O’Flynn, Tender Loving Care (Bleecker Street)

• Tao Okamoto, All of a Sudden (NEON)

• Channing Tatum, Josephine (Sumerian Pictures)

As per usual we have multiple leading players tossed into supporting. But let’s not focus on that because it’s exhausting / boring. Meanwhile it’s a pity that they found room for Tao Okamoto but not her duet partner Virginie Efira in All of a Sudden.

Breakthrough Performer

Guitarricadelafuente in the thrilling opening sequence of LA BOLA NEGRA

• Adia, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (Amazon MGM Studios)

• India Amarteifio, Clarissa (NEON)

• Guitarricadelafuente, La Bola Negra (Netflix)

• Colas Quignard, La Gradiva (1-2 Special)

• Mason Reeves, Josephine (Sumerian Pictures)

Shout-out to Guitarricadelafuente who I will be rooting for in Best Original Song at the Oscars; I became a huge fan a year ago (before I knew about La Bola Negra) due to his brilliant album “Spanish Leather” which I suggest you listen to on repeat IMMEDIATELY. He’s entirely solid as a first-time actor in the great Spanish epic La Bola Negra though I don’t necessarily think he needs to compete for "best acting of the year" prizes. Don't be mad at me, I still love him! 

Gotham Audience Award

• Backrooms (A24)

• La Bola Negra (Netflix)

• The Drama (A24)

• The Invite (A24)

• Michael (Lionsgate)

• Obsession (Focus Features)

• Project Hail Mary (Amazon MGM Studios)

• You Can See Everything (A24)

I’m sure someone can explain how the mega-budget Project Hail Mary and the super-mainstream Michael belong in an awards evening dedicated to independent cinema but I am as of yet unaware of what the reasoning is! I could have looked it up, mind you, but why? Shouldn’t the Gothams be bringing spotlights to indie efforts? Leave the mainstream spectacles and blockbusters to the mainstream awards shows. (P.S. I love Project Hail Mary so this isn’t about quality) 

Which of these nominations are you most excited about and which film are you most desperate to see from this nominee pool? 

Comments

[Mike in Canada]

Welcome back!
I'm most desperate for people to see Blue Heron - it was a really strong year for Canadian movies, and that one is particularly special!
These nominations come so early that I have yet to see a lot of them, but these are good gets for Mahershela Ali, Gillian Anderson and Skyler Gisondo, who are very, very good in their movies.
I keep hoping that if Robert Pattinson can gain momentum in Primetime that he can pull Gisondo and Merrit Wever with him throughout the season.