Gotham Awards Go Gaga For 'Marriage Story', Awarding It Best Picture, Best Actor And More
The Gotham Awards were held last night, awarding some of the best films of the year, with Marriage Story coming out on top. The Noah Baumbach-directed Netflix film landed multiple awards, while some other notable films – like The Farewell – took home prizes as well. We're headed into awards season now, and while some of the titles recognized by the Gotham Awards will no doubt get Oscar attention, this isn't a clear indication of how the Oscars will shape up. See the Gotham Awards winners below.
The Gotham Awards follow a process that involves journalists picking the nominees and actors and filmmakers picking the winners. That's much different from how the Academy handles things, which means the Oscars will shape up differently. Still, it's nice to see some of these films recognized. As the Gotham Awards site states, the awards are "selected by distinguished juries and presented in New York City, the home of independent film, are the first honors of the film awards season. This public showcase honors the filmmaking community, expands the audience for independent films, and supports the work that IFP does behind the scenes throughout the year to bring such films to fruition."
Marriage Story was the big winner, landing Best Picture, Best Actor for Adam Driver, Best Screenplay and the Audience Award. Awkwafina took home Best Actress for The Farewell, and I really hope she ends up in the Oscar race as well – The Farewell almost feels forgotten at this point, and it really shouldn't be. Taylor Russell won Breakthrough Actor for her fantastic turn in Waves, and Ava DuVernay's acclaimed When They See Us scored the award for Breakthrough Series (Long Format). The full list of winners is below. It's relatively short!
Best Picture: Marriage Story
Best Actor: Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Best Actress: Awkwafina, The Farewell
Best Documentary: American Factory
Breakthrough Director: Laure De Clermont-Tonnerre, The Mustang
Best Screenplay: Marriage Story
Breakthrough Actor: Taylor Russell, Waves
Breakthrough Series (Long Format): When They See Us
Breakthrough Series (Short Format): PEN15
Audience Award: Marriage Story