Awards season is officially underway.
The Independent Filmmaker Project announced Thursday its 2019 Gotham Awards nominations, becoming the first major film body to push potential Oscar contenders into the race at large.
Leading the pack of indie-leaning honorees are four titles that scored three nods each: Lulu Wang’s semi-autobiographical drama The Farewell (starring Awkwafina, who also scored a Best Actress nod), Noah Baumbach’s ensemble divorce drama Marriage Story (for which Adam Driver landed a Best Actor nomination), Joe Talbot’s The Last Black Man in San Francisco, and the Safdie brothers’ Adam Sandler-starring thriller Uncut Gems.
The Farewell, Marriage Story, and Uncut Gems also landed among the Gotham Awards’ Best Feature nominees alongside Lorene Scafaria’s Jennifer Lopez-fronted hit Hustlers and Trey Edward Shults’ festival breakout Waves.
Other acting nominees include Sandler, Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse), Aldis Hodge (Clemency), Alfre Woodard (Clemency), and Elisabeth Moss (Her Smell), while Olivia Wilde (Booksmart) bagged a nomination for Breakthrough Director.
Among other nominees, Marriage Story and Little Women‘s Laura Dern, Jojo Rabbit‘s Sam Rockwell, and When They See Us director Ava DuVernay will receive special Gotham Tributes, while the Gotham Industry Tribute will go to Glen Basner.
On the television side, the Breakthrough Series category is populated only by streaming titles, namely: Hulu’s PEN15 and Ramy, Netflix’s Russian Doll and Tuca & Bertie, and Amazon Prime’s Undone.
Though the Gotham Awards primarily shine a light on smaller, independent productions emerging in the awards conversation, its nominations are often the earliest reflection of general tastes on the pre-Oscar circuit. Last year, eventual Best Picture nominee The Favourite scored a Best Feature nomination, while eventual Academy Award nominees like Adam Driver (BlacKkKlansman), Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Glenn Close (The Wife), Yalitza Aparicio (Roma), and the ladies of The Favourite (Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz) were recognized by the Gotham Awards.
The 2019 IFP Gotham Awards ceremony will be held on Monday, Dec. 2 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. Read on for a full list of this year’s nominations.
Best Feature
The FarewellLulu Wang, director; Daniele Melia, Marc Turtletaub, Peter Saraf, Andrew Miano, Chris Weitz, Jane Zheng, Lulu Wang, Anita Gou, producers (A24)
HustlersLorene Scafaria, director; Jessica Elbaum, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Jennifer Lopez, Benny Medina, Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, producers (STXfilms)
Marriage StoryNoah Baumbach, director; Noah Baumbach, David Heyman, producers (Netflix)
Uncut GemsJosh Safdie, Benny Safdie, directors; Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, Sebastian Bear McClard, producers (A24)
WavesTrey Edward Shults, director; James Wilson, Kevin Turen, Trey Edward Shults, producers (A24)
Best Documentary
American FactorySteven Bognar, Julia Reichert, directors; Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert, Jeff Reichert, Julie Parker Benello, producers (Netflix)
Apollo 11Todd Douglas Miller, director; Todd Douglas Miller, Thomas Baxley Petersen, Evan Krauss, producers (NEON and CNN Films)
The Edge of DemocracyPetra Costa, director; Petra Costa, Tiago Pavan, Joanna Natasegara, Shane Boris, producers (Netflix)
Midnight TravelerHassan Fazili, director; Emelie Mahdavian, Su Kim, producers (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
One Child NationNanfu Wang, Jialing Zhang, directors; Nanfu Wang, Jialing Zhang, Christoph Jörg, Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, Carolyn Hepburn, producers (Amazon Studios)
Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Laure De Clermont-Tonnerre for The Mustang (Focus Features)
Kent Jones for Diane (IFC Films)
Joe Talbot for The Last Black Man in San Francisco (A24)
Olivia Wilde for Booksmart (United Artists Releasing)
Phillip Youmans for Burning Cane (ARRAY Releasing)
Best Screenplay
The Farewell, Lulu Wang (A24)High Flying Bird, Tarell Alvin McCraney (Netflix)The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Jimmie Fails, Joe Talbot, Rob Richert (A24)Marriage Story, Noah Baumbach (Netflix)Midsommar, Ari Aster (A24)
Best Actor
Willem Dafoe in The Lighthouse (A24)
Adam Driver in Marriage Story (Netflix)
Aldis Hodge in Clemency (NEON)
André Holland in High Flying Bird (Netflix)
Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems (A24)
Best Actress
Awkwafina in The Farewell (A24)
Elisabeth Moss in Her Smell (Gunpowder & Sky)
Mary Kay Place in Diane (IFC Films)
Florence Pugh in Midsommar (A24)
Alfre Woodard in Clemency (NEON)
Breakthrough Actor
Julia Fox in Uncut Gems (A24)
Aisling Franciosi in The Nightingale (IFC Films)
Chris Galust in Give Me Liberty (Music Box Films)
Noah Jupe in Honey Boy (Amazon Studios)
Jonathan Majors in The Last Black Man in San Francisco (A24)
Taylor Russell in Waves (A24)
Breakthrough Series – Long Format (over 40 minutes)
Chernobyl, Craig Mazin, creator; Craig Mazin, Carolyn Strauss, Jane Featherstone, executive producers (HBO)
David Makes Man, Tarell Alvin McCraney, creator; Mike Kelley, Melissa Loy, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Denitria Harris-Lawrence, Michael B. Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, executive producers (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)
My Brilliant Friend, Saverio Costanzo, creator; Domenico Procacci, Mario Gianani, Guido De Laurentiis, Elena Recchia, Jennifer Schuur, Paolo Sorrentino, executive producers (HBO)
Unbelievable, Susannah Grant, Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, Lisa Cholodenko, Ayelet Waldman & Michael Chabon, Katie Couric, Richard Tofel, Neil Barsky, Robyn Semien, Marie, executive producers (Netflix)
When They See Us, Ava DuVernay, creator; Jeff Skoll, Jonathan King, Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro, Berry Welsh, Oprah Winfrey, Ava DuVernay, executive producers (Netflix)
Breakthrough Series – Short Format (under 40 minutes)
PEN15, Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, Sam Zvibleman, creators; Anna Konkle, Sam Zvibleman, Debbie Liebling, Gabe Liedman, Marc Provissiero, Brooke Pobjoy, Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer, Becky Sloviter, Shelley Zimmerman, Brin Lukens, Jordan Levin, executive producers (Hulu)
Ramy, Ramy Youssef, Ari Katcher, Ryan Welch, creators; Ramy Youssef, Jerrod Carmichael, Ravi Nandan, Bridget Bedard, Ari Katcher, Ryan Welch, executive producers (Hulu)
Russian Doll, Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland, Amy Poehler, creators; Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland, Amy Poehler, Dave Becky, Tony Hernandez, Lilly Burns, Allison Silverman, executive producers (Netflix)
Tuca & Bertie, Lisa Hanawalt, creator; Lisa Hanawalt, Raphael Bob-Waksberg, Noel Bright, Steven A. Cohen, Tiffany Haddish, Ali Wong, executive producers (Netflix)
Undone, Kate Purdy, Raphael Bob-Waksberg, creators; Kate Purdy, Raphael Bob-Waksberg, Noel Bright, Steven A. Cohen, Tommy Pallotta, executive producers (Amazon Prime Video)
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