The 2019-2020 movie awards season got underway on Monday night, December 2, with the presentation of the Gotham Awards for independent film. Presented by the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), these prizes are decided by juries of industry peers and have honored Oscar winners like “Sideways” (2004), “Capote” (2005), “The Hurt Locker” (2009), “Spotlight” (2015) and “Moonlight” (2016). So who took top honors this year? Scroll down for the complete list in all 10 categories, updated live as they were announced.
“Marriage Story,” “The Farewell” and “Uncut Gems” led the nominations with three apiece (not counting the Audience Award, where the winner was decided from all nominees from Best Feature, Best Documentary, and Best Breakthrough Director). Those three films were up for Best Feature along with “Hustlers” and “Waves.”
“Marriage Story” was the highest-profile Oscar contender among those nominees, but did that mean it was a surefire winner? The jury voting process opens the door for underdogs and left-field choices like last year’s champ “The Rider,” which beat Oscar favorites “If Beale Street Could Talk” and, well, the literal “Favourite.”
The Audience Award wasn’t decided by those juries, but they weren’t open to members of the general public either. Only IFP members were eligible to vote for that honor, and winners of that prize in recent years have included “Boyhood” (2014), “Get Out” (2017) and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” (2018).
In addition to those competitive awards, the Gothams also feted filmmaker Ava DuVernay, actors Laura Dern and Sam Rockwell, and producer Glen Basner with special tributes. See who else took home prizes on Monday night below.
Best Feature
Jurors: Scott Cooper, Rachel Morrison, Josh Penn, Uma Thurman, Aisha Tyler
“The Farewell”
Lulu Wang, director; Daniele Melia, Marc Turtletaub, Peter Saraf, Andrew Miano, Chris Weitz, Jane Zheng, Lulu Wang, Anita Gou, producers (A24)
“Hustlers”
Lorene Scafaria, director; Jessica Elbaum, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Jennifer Lopez, Benny Medina, Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, producers (STXfilms)
X — “Marriage Story”
Noah Baumbach, director; Noah Baumbach, David Heyman, producers (Netflix)
“Uncut Gems”
Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie, directors; Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, Sebastian Bear McClard, producers (A24)
“Waves”
Trey Edward Shults, director; James Wilson, Kevin Turen, Trey Edward Shults, producers (A24)
Best Documentary
Jurors: Susan Bedusa, Marshall Curry, Barbara Kopple, Ramell Ross, Sandi Tan
X — “American Factory”
Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert, directors; Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert, Jeff Reichert, Julie Parker Benello, producers (Netflix)
“Apollo 11”
Todd Douglas Miller, director; Todd Douglas Miller, Thomas Baxley Petersen, Evan Krauss, producers (NEON and CNN Films)
“The Edge of Democracy”
Petra Costa, director; Petra Costa, Tiago Pavan, Joanna Natasegara, Shane Boris, producers (Netflix)
“Midnight Traveler”
Hassan Fazili, director; Emelie Mahdavian, Su Kim, producers (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
“One Child Nation”
Nanfu Wang, Jialing Zhang, directors; Nanfu Wang, Jialing Zhang, Christoph Jörg, Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, Carolyn Hepburn, producers (Amazon Studios)
Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Jurors: Haifaa Al-Mansour, Scott Franklin, Regina Hall, Riva Marker, Alexandre Moors
X — 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
Jurors: Lisa Cortes, Tracey Edmonds, Peter Hedges, Bill Holderman, Susanna Styron
“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)
X — “Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach (Netflix)
“Midsommar,” Ari Aster (A24)
Best Actor
Jurors: Daveed Diggs, Melanie Lynskey, Douglas McGrath, John Penotti, and Joel Schumacher
Willem Dafoe in “The Lighthouse” (A24)
X — 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
Jurors: Wendy Finerman, Elizabeth Karlsen, Chris Meloni, Yen Tan, Debra Winger
X — 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
Jurors: Molly Asher, Chadwick Boseman, Annette Davey, Evan Hayes, Crystal Moselle
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)
X — Taylor Russell in “Waves” (A24)
Breakthrough Series – Long Format (over 40 minutes)
Jurors: Emily V. Gordon, Steven Katz, Jayme Lemons, Adrian Lester, Vera Miao
“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)
X — “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)
Jurors: Ryan Cunningham, Cory Finley, Paul Sparks, Julia Stiles, Vanessa Williams
X — “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)
Audience Award
“American Factory”
“Apollo 11”
“Booksmart”
“Burning Cane”
“Diane”
“The Edge of Democracy”
“The Farewell”
“Hustlers”
“The Last Black Man in San Francisco”
X — “Marriage Story”
“Midnight Traveler”
“The Mustang”
“One Child Nation”
“Uncut Gems”
“Waves”
Be sure to make your Oscar nominee predictions today so that Hollywood insiders can see how their films and performers are faring in our odds. You can keep changing your predictions as often as you like until just before nominees are announced on January 13. And join in the fun debate over the 2020 Academy Awards taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our film forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
