Gotham Award Winners 2024

The Industry was invited to attend The Gotham Awards.

Thank you very much to the team at Gotham, Reggie Dvorin and Colin Whitlow for inviting us. The ceremony was a celebration of indie cinema, honoring both the newcomers and the titans of indie cinema.

It was great to mingle with indie filmmakers; I got to catch up with the director and the writer of Sing Sing, who I interviewed earlier in the day for their film. Plus, I had a nice chat with Adrien Brody and later Brady Corbet about my Hungarian heritage (their film The Brutalist centers on a Hungarian immigrant’s experience).

The lineup of presenters was so passionate about indie cinema that it really feels like there is hope for industry when artists come together.

Colman Domingo, presenting The Gotham Social Justice Tribute Award to the cast of Sing Sing, spoke of people finding the keys to enlivening their humanity through art, even if their souls are trapped under rubble.

The image below was shot on my iPhone; I was right at the front but in the corner:

Colman Domingo at The Gotham Awards.

Here’s Domingo’s amazing speech.

Josh O'Connor (Challengers) presented Zendaya with the Spotlight Tribute, gushing about her brilliance, weaving a tapestry of quotes from directors who have said:

“Authenticity is her superpower… Generational talent… Kind heart.”

John David Washington (Tenet) summed it up best by thanking The Gotham for recognizing the years of work that haven’t been recognized.

My favorite moment in the evening came from Denis Villeneuve (dir: Dune, Arrival, Enemy), who shared a bit of advice that Martin Scorsese had given him when he made the transition from indie film to Hollywood:

“Stay intact. Protect the flame. Creativity is linked with vulnerability.”

He went on to say he was proud of not compromising and thanked his guardian angels, who helped him maintain his creative spirit. His first believers were Maha Dakhil (his agent at CAA), Mary Parent (head of production Legendary), and his wife.

Thank you so much to The Gotham. It was a fantastic evening, and we were seated next to Pamela Anderson.

Here are the 2024 Winners:

Best Feature

• A Different Man (A24)

  • Dir: Aaron Schimberg

  • Trailer

Back in September, we interviewed Schimberg about his film at the A24 offices; here’s our cover story:
https://theindustry.co/p/a24s-new-face

I chatted again with Schimberg before the event, and he admitted he didn’t like the red carpet. We chatted after he’d won, and he was overjoyed but also flabbergasted because he didn’t think he was going to win–so much so that he hadn’t written a speech.

Best International Feature

• All We Imagine As Light (Sideshow and Janus Films)

  • Dir: Payal Kapadia

  • Trailer

Best Documentary Feature

• No Other Land (Antipode Films)

  • Dir: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor

  • Trailer

Congratulations to the team. We did a cover story on this wonderful film. You can read it here:
https://theindustry.co/p/brad-pitt-and-no-other-land

Best Director

• RaMell Ross, Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)

  • Trailer

Best Screenplay

• Azazel Jacobs, His Three Daughters (Netflix)

  • Trailer

Jacobs’ stated:

“This story is coming from a heavy hard moment but it will always be tinged with the extreme joy of working with these actors.”

Best Breakthrough Director

• Vera Drew, The People's Joker (Altered Innocence)

  • Trailer

Drew stated:

“I want to thank my parents for always encouraging me to just make really weird shit. And my manager, Lindsay Cohen, who really had no reason to believe in a legal queer coming of age comic book movie when I presented that idea to her.”

She continued:

“Also [thank you] Warner Brothers for not suing me.”

Outstanding Lead Performance

• Colman Domingo, Sing Sing (A24)

  • Trailer

Domingo thanked the director, Greg Kwedar, writer Clint Bentley, and producer Monique Walton, stating:

“Thank you for inviting me to bring my whole self to help tell this story of these men I care so deeply about. Truly, they found art to be the parachute that could save them. And they poured themselves into it, and it poured back into them.”

We just interviewed Greg and Clint for our podcast:
https://theindustry.co/p/a24-director-greg-kwedar-sing-sing

I got to meet back up these guys at the party and they were a ton of fun, and got me to share a few stories of my internship days at a major production company. We laughed at the highs and lows of interning.

Outstanding Supporting Performance

• Clarence Maclin, Sing Sing (A24)

This is Clarence’s first film role. He played himself in Sing Sing with a raw, brutal honesty that is endearing and memorable.

Best Breakthrough Performer

• Brandon Wilson, Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)

Nickel Boys and Sing Sing each took home two Gotham Awards.

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The event was amazing, and thank you for The Gotham for inviting The Industry.

I got to reconnect with Julia Oh and David Hinojosa (producers: Babygirl). Plus, I had a nice chat with Adrien Brody and later Brady Corbet about the power of The Brutalist and how the filmmaking was marvelously meticulous. Fingers crossed, we’ll have an upcoming interview.