The awards season is officially underway as nominations were announced for the 2016 Gotham Awards. Celebrating the finest achievements in independent cinema throughout the year, the Gothams are the first major organization to weigh in. As such, the big takeaways so far come from the strength of two films in particular that may prove to be major contenders throughout the season: Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea and Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight.
Both films have taken different paths: Manchester made its world premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and quickly arrived as a critical favorite. Lonergan, a previous Oscar nominee for penning the 2000 indie You Can Count on Me, and his cast comprised of Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler and newcomer Lucas Hedges have since been greeted with similar acclaim as the film played the Telluride and New York film festivals. The film leads the Gotham field with four nominations. Moonlight, however, burst out of the gate once critics and festivalgoers celebrated the film after its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival. The film opens this week in limited engagements and earned two Gotham nods as well as a special prize for its ensemble cast. Both titles earned Best Feature nominations alongside Certain Women, Everybody Wants Some!! and Paterson.
The Gothams are selected by juries comprised of critics and industry professionals. While the awards themselves may have little impact on the awards season as a whole, they are notable for being so early in the season and may help give a slight boost in attention for the films selected. The Gotham Awards will be handed out on Monday, November 28th in New York City.
Check out the full list of film nominees below:
BEST FEATURE
- Certain Women
- Everybody Wants Some!!
- Manchester by the Sea
- Moonlight
- Paterson
BEST ACTOR
- Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
- Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
- Adam Driver, Paterson
- Joel Edgerton, Loving
- Craig Robinson, Morris from America
BEST ACTRESS
- Kate Beckinsale, Love & Friendship
- Annette Bening, 20th Century Women
- Isabelle Huppert, Elle
- Ruth Negga, Loving
- Natalie Portman, Jackie
BEST SCREENPLAY
- Hell or High Water – written by Taylor Sheridan
- Love & Friendship – written by Whit Stillman
- Manchester by the Sea – written by Kenneth Lonergan
- Moonlight – story by Tarell Alvin McCraney; screenplay by Barry Jenkins
- Paterson – written by Jim Jarmusch
BEST DOCUMENTARY
- Cameraperson
- I Am Not Your Negro
- O.J.: Made in America
- Tower
- Weiner
BREAKTHROUGH ACTOR
- Lily Gladstone, Certain Women
- Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
- Royalty Hightower, The Fits
- Sasha Lane, American Honey
- Anya Taylor-Joy, The Witch
BINGHAM RAY BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTOR AWARD
- Robert Eggers, The Witch
- Anna Rose Holmer, The Fits
- Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Swiss Army Man
- Trey Edward Shults, Krisha
- Richard Tanne, Southside with You
GOTHAM TRIBUTES
- Amy Adams
- Ethan Hawke
- Arnon Milchan
- Oliver Stone
The 2016 Best Actor/Best Actress and Breakthrough Actor nominating panels also voted to award a special Gotham Jury Award for ensemble performance to Moonlight, “in which actors at all levels of experience give outstanding performances that speak eloquently to one another both within and across each chapter of the story.” The awards will go to actors Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Alex Hibbert, André Holland, Jharrel Jerome, Janelle Monáe, Jaden Piner, Trevante Rhodes, and Ashton Sanders.
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