The 2019 Gotham Awards nominations have arrived, serving as yet another sign that awards season is well underway whether you like it or not. The IFP Gotham Awards are one of the leading awards for independent film, and usually serve as the first major awards ceremony of the season. They traditionally show love to smaller movies and help get the awards trains rolling on underseen gems, as was the case last year with The Rider and First Reformed. How that translates to the awards season as a whole is hit or miss—The Rider didn’t score any Oscar nominations, but First Reformed landed an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. The nominees and winners of the Gotham Awards are chosen by 26 writers, critics, and programmers who have been selected to participate.
This year’s IFP Gotham Awards nominations are led by Noah Baumbach’s critically acclaimed Netflix drama Marriage Story and Lulu Wang’s Sundance darling The Farewell, both of which received three nominations each including Best Feature, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actor (Adam Driver for Marriage Story) and Best Actress (Awkwafina for The Farewell).
Directors Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie’s tense thriller Uncut Gems also scored nominations for Best Feature and Best Actor for Adam Driver, while Midsommar landed nominations for Best Screenplay (Ari Aster) and Best Actress (Florence Pugh). In addition to Marriage Story, The Farewell, and Uncut Gems, the other Best Feature nominees are the terrific Hustlers and the A24 drama Waves.
On the TV side of things, nominees for Breakthrough Series both long format and short format include HBO’s Emmy-winning Chernobyl, Netflix’s Ava DuVernay limited series When They See Us and sexual assault drama Unbelievable, and the cancelled-too-soon Tuca & Bertie.
Check out the full list of Gotham Awards nominations below. The winners will be announced in the IFP Gotham Awards ceremony on December 2nd.
Best Feature
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)
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
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
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
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)
Marriage Story, Noah Baumbach (Netflix)
Midsommar, Ari Aster (A24)
Best Actor
Willem Dafoe in The Lighthouse (A24)
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
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
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)
Taylor Russell in Waves (A24)
Breakthrough Series – Long Format (over 40 minutes)
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)
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)
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)