November 26, 2018
The following is a press release from the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP):
The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) tonight announced the winners of the 28th Annual IFP Gotham Awards at a ceremony held at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.
Winning the Best Feature award was The Rider, director Chloé Zhao’s intimately lyrical, contemporary Western portrait of an injured young rodeo bronc rider’s journey toward a potentially compromised future.
The award for Best Documentary went to Hale County This Morning, This Evening, director RaMell Ross’ adventurously impressionistic and deeply poetic portrait of the lives of two young African American men in rural Alabama filmed over five years.
The IFP Gotham Audience Award, voted by IFP members, went to Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Morgan Neville’s intimate – and massively popular – documentary on Fred Rogers, exploring both the public and private side of the man who invited generations of children and adults into his television neighborhood.
Winning the award for Best Actor was Ethan Hawke for his performance in First Reformed as a tormented parish pastor whose ministering to a troubled couple sends him on a path toward his own redemption. Scoring a second award for First Reformed was veteran writer/director Paul Schrader who won the Best Screenplay award.
Toni Collette was voted Best Actress for her demanding and expansive performance in Hereditary as a guilt-ridden mother who battles through increasing levels of grief and fear to horror as the legacy of a poisoned family tree reaches its culmination.
In the “breakthrough” categories, Eighth Grade scored two wins. Elsie Fisher won the Breakthrough Actor award for her delicately precise and touching performance as a shy and vulnerable teen enduring the final week of middle school while achieving small victories of confidence as she heads toward high school. Fisher’s director – former teen YouTuber, comedian, and musician Bo Burnham – was voted the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director award for so accurately and sensitively capturing the world of Eighth Grade, his debut feature film.
For breakthroughs in television and digital media, the Breakthrough Series–Long Form award, which aims to honor work that “expands the possibilities of creative, independent storytelling and enriches the landscape or pushes the boundaries of ‘television’” was won by Killing Eve, the comically original BBC America series starring Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer in which a female MI5 officer is assigned to track down a skilled psychopathic assassin, turning into a cat and mouse game of mutual obsession. The Breakthrough Series–Short Form award went to the vibrant and serio-comic 195 Lewis, in which a black lesbian couple in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, navigates their relationship surrounded by their distinctively original black queer friends.
As previously announced, in addition to the competitive awards, a Special Jury Award for ensemble performance was presented to Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz as the leads of Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite.
Career Tributes were also given during the ceremony to actors Rachel Weisz (presented by Michael Sheen) and Willem Dafoe (presented by Laurie Anderson), director Paul Greengrass (presented by Frank Marshall), and producer and Founding Chairman and CEO of RadicalMedia, Jon Kamen (presented by Katherine Oliver).
Also during the ceremony, a “Made in NY” Award, given by the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) to honor excellence in New York City’s creative community, was presented by Commissioner Julie Menin to Emmy Award-winning television host, bestselling author, filmmaker and activist Sandra Lee.
The Gotham Award ceremony was streamed on Facebook Live on FB/IFPFilm.
Here is the complete list of 2018 IFP Gotham Awards nominees and winners:
*=winner
Best Feature
(Presented by Patricia Clarkson. The Best Feature jury included Judy Becker, Geoffrey Fletcher, Jon Hamm, Catherine Keener, and Bill Pohlad.)
The Favourite — Yorgos Lanthimos, director; Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday, Yorgos Lanthimos, producers (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
First Reformed — Paul Schrader, director; Jack Binder, Greg Clark, Victoria Hill, Gary Hamilton, Deepak Sikka, Christine Vachon, David Hinojosa, Frank Murray, producers (A24)
If Beale Street Could Talk — Barry Jenkins, director; Adele Romanski, Sara Murphy, Barry Jenkins, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Megan Ellison, producers (Annapurna Pictures)
Madeline’s Madeline — Josephine Decker, director; Krista Parris, Elizabeth Rao, producers (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
The Rider — Chloé Zhao, director; Bert Hamelinck, Sacha Ben Harroche, Mollye Asher, Chloé Zhao, producers (Sony Pictures Classics)*
Best Documentary
(Presented by Keegan-Michael Key. The Best Documentary jury included Rachel Grady, Alan Jacobsen, Asif Kapadia, Ross Kauffman, and Dawn Porter.)
Bisbee ‘17 — Robert Greene, producer; Douglas Tirola, Susan Bedusa, Bennett Elliott, producers (4th Row Films)
Hale County This Morning, This Evening — RaMell Ross, director; RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes, Su Kim, producers (The Cinema Guild)*
Minding the Gap — Bing Liu, director; Diane Quon, Bing Liu, producers (Hulu & Magnolia Pictures)
Shirkers — Sandi Tan, director; Sandi Tan, Jessica Levin, Maya Rudolph, producers (Netflix)
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? — Morgan Neville, director; Morgan Neville, Caryn Capotosto, Nicholas Ma, producers (Focus Features)
Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
(Presented by Barry Jenkins. The Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director jury included Wren Arthur, Natasha Lyonne, Matthew Porterfield, Kathryn Schubert, and Alfre Woodard.)
Ari Aster for Hereditary (A24)
Bo Burnham for Eighth Grade (A24)*
Jennifer Fox for The Tale (HBO)
Crystal Moselle for Skate Kitchen (Magnolia Pictures)
Boots Riley for Sorry to Bother You (Annapurna Pictures)
Best Screenplay
(Presented by Rupert Friend. The Best Screenplay jury included Stephen McKinley Henderson, Phyllis Nagy, Whit Stillman, Michael Taylor, and DeWanda Wise.)
The Favourite — Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
First Reformed — Paul Schrader (A24)*
Private Life — Tamara Jenkins (Netflix)
Support the Girls — Andrew Bujalski (Magnolia Pictures)
Thoroughbreds — Cory Finley (Focus Features)
Best Actor
(Presented by Alessandro Nivola. The Best Actor jury included Lisa Cortés, Alexa Fogel, Alessandro Nivola, Mike White, and Constance Wu.)
Adam Driver in BlacKkKlansman (Focus Features)
Ben Foster in Leave No Trace (Bleecker Street)
Richard E. Grant in Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Ethan Hawke in First Reformed (A24)*
Lakeith Stanfield in Sorry to Bother You (Annapurna Pictures)
Best Actress
(Presented by Kieran Culkin. The Best Actress jury included Sean Baker, Malcolm D. Lee, Sam Levy, Alix Madigan, and Gabourey Sidibe.)
Glenn Close in The Wife (Sony Pictures Classics)
Toni Collette in Hereditary (A24)*
Kathryn Hahn in Private Life (Netflix)
Regina Hall in Support the Girls (Magnolia Pictures)
Michelle Pfeiffer in Where is Kyra? (Paladin and Great Point Media)
Special Jury Award for Ensemble Performance
Presented by Cynthia Nixon. The 2018 Best Actress nominating committee also voted to award this special Gotham Jury Award.
The Favourite – Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Breakthrough Actor
(Presented by Regina Hall. The Breakthrough Actor jury included Anna Boden, Effie Brown, Chris Messina, Zac Stuart Pontier, and Lois Smith.)
Yalitza Aparicio in Roma (Netflix)
Elsie Fisher in Eighth Grade (A24)*
Helena Howard in Madeline’s Madeline (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
KiKi Layne in If Beale Street Could Talk (Annapurna Pictures)
Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie in Leave No Trace (Bleecker Street)
Breakthrough Series – Long Form
(Presented by Amy Seimetz and Taylor Schilling. The Breakthrough Series – Long Form jury included Radha Blank, M. Blair Breard, Tatiana Maslany, Amy Seimetz, and Samira Wiley.)
Alias Grace — Sarah Polley, Mary Harron, Noreen Halpern, executive producers (Netflix)
Big Mouth — Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, Jennifer Flackett, Mark Levin, creators; Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, Mark Levin & Jennifer Flackett, executive producers (Netflix)
The End of the F***ing World — Andy Baker, Murray Ferguson, Petra Fried, Ed MacDonald, Dominic Buchanan, Jonathan Entwistle, executive producers (Netflix)
Killing Eve — Sally Woodward Gentle, Lee Morris, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, executive producers (BBC America)*
Pose — Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Steven Canals, creators; Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Alexis Martin Woodall, Sherry Marsh, executive producers (FX Networks)
Sharp Objects — Marti Noxon, creator; Marti Noxon, Jason Blum, Gillian Flynn, Amy Adams, Jean-Marc Vallée, Nathan Ross, Gregg Fienberg, Charles Layton, Marci Wiseman, Jessica Rhoades, executive producers (HBO)
Breakthrough Series – Short Form
(Presented by Amy Seimetz and Taylor Schilling. The Breakthrough Series-Short Form award was voted for on-line by IFP members.)
195 Lewis — Chanelle Aponte Pearson and Rae Leone Allen, creators*
Cleaner Daze —Tess Sweet and Daniel Gambelin, creators
Distance — Alex Dobrenko, creator
The F Word — Nicole Opper, creator
She’s the Ticket — Nadia Hallgren, creator
Gotham Audience Award
(Presented by Mj Rodriguez. IFP members determine the Gotham Audience Award with nominees comprised of the 15 nominated films in the Best Feature, Best Documentary, and Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award categories. All IFP current, active members are eligible to vote. Voting took place online from November 19 to November 24, 2018.)
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? — Morgan Neville, director; Morgan Neville, Caryn Capotosto, Nicholas Ma, producers (Focus Features)*
Sponsors
The Premier Sponsor of the 2018 IFP Gotham Awards is The New York Times, and the Platinum Sponsor is GreenSlate. The Official Water Partner is FIJI Water, the Official Chocolate Partner is Lindt Chocolate and the Official Wine Partner is Robert Hall Winery. The Official After-Party Sponsor is Allbirds. Additionally, the awards will be promoted nationally in an eight-page special advertising section in The New York Times in November 2018.