The Gotham Awards pave the way to the Oscars — helping elevate films and performers early on in the awards season. Focusing on the best of independent cinema, the ceremony aims to honor films with budgets of $35 million or lower.
The awards show will take place on Nov. 29 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City at 8 p.m. ET. Viewers can watch the event live on Facebook, with the livestream beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.
One new element of this year’s show is that the organization has gotten rid of gendered awards. The best actor and best actress categories for independent feature films will instead be known as outstanding lead performance and outstanding supporting performance.
Jeffrey Sharp, executive director of the Gotham Film & Media Institute, explained the decision to go gender neutral in a statement, saying, “The Gotham Awards have a 30 year history of celebrating diverse voices in independent storytelling. We are proud to recognize outstanding acting achievements each year, and look forward to a new model of honoring performances without binary divisions of gender. We are grateful to those who helped to start this conversation in recent years and we are thrilled that the Gotham Awards will continue to support artistic excellence in a more inclusive and equitable way.”
Nominees for best feature include “The Green Knight,” “The Lost Daughter,” “Passing,” “Pig” and “Test Pattern.” Olivia Colman, Frankie Faison, Michael Greyeyes, Brittany S. Hall, Oscar Issac, Taylour Paige, Joaquin Phoenix, Simon Rex, Lili Taylor and Tessa Thompson are up for this year’s outstanding lead performance award.
The Gotham Awards will also give The Actors Fund its Impact Salute, giving recognition to the way the organization provided support to the acting and performing arts community during the height of the pandemic.
This year’s tribute awards include Kristen Stewart, performer tribute for “Spencer;” Peter Dinklage, performer tribute; Eamonn Bowles, industry tribute; Jane Campion, director tribute for “Power of the Dog;” “The Harder They Fall” cast for the ensemble tribute and Kathleen Collins for the icon tribute.