The 2019 Gotham Award nominations were announced on Thursday, marking the first real start to award season. The Gotham Awards, as doled out by the Independent Filmmaker Project, honor the best in American independent film. While they do not share membership with the Academy Awards, they often help position smaller films for success leading all the way up to the Oscars. Past nominees that went on to receive Academy Awards attention include BlacKkKlansman, Call Me by Your Name, The Favourite, First Reformed, Get Out, If Beale Street Could Talk, Lady Bird, Roma and many more.
Among the 2019 nominees, The Farewell, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Marriage Story, and Uncut Gems lead with three nominations, followed by Clemency, Diane, High Flying Bird, Midsommar, and Waves at two. The Gotham Awards will take place Monday, Dec. 2 in New York City, and will be streamed live.
Here’s the full list of Gotham Award nominations for 2019:
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 Actor
- Willem Dafoe – The Lighthouse
- Adam Driver – Marriage Story
- Aldis Hodge – Clemency
- André Holland – High Flying Bird
- Adam Sandler – Uncut Gems
Best Actress
- Awkwafina – The Farewell
- Elisabeth Moss – Her Smell
- Mary Kay Place – Diane
- Florence Pugh – Midsommar
- Alfre Woodard – Clemency
Breakthrough Actor
- Julia Fox – Uncut Gems
- Aisling Franciosi – The Nightingale
- Chris Galust – Give Me Liberty
- Noah Jupe – Honey Boy
- Jonathan Majors – The Last Black Man in San Francisco
- Taylor Russell – Waves
Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
- Laure De Clermont-Tonnerre for The Mustang
- Kent Jones for Diane
- Joe Talbot for The Last Black Man in San Francisco
- Olivia Wilde for Booksmart
- Phillip Youmans for Burning Cane
Best Screenplay
- The Farewell – Lulu Wang
- High Flying Bird – Tarell Alvin McCraney
- The Last Black Man in San Francisco – Jimmie Fails, Joe Talbot, and Rob Richert
- Marriage Story – Noah Baumbach
- Midsommar – Ari Aster
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)
Breakthrough Series – 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 – 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)
Nominating Committee for Best Feature, Best Screenplay, and Breakthrough Director:
- Justin Chang, Film Critic, Los Angeles Times
- Ann Hornaday, Chief Film Critic, The Washington Post
- Eric Kohn, Executive Editor & Chief Critic, IndieWire
- Joshua Rothkopf, Global Deputy Film Editor, Time Out Media
- Alison Willmore, Film Critic, Vulture
Nominating Committee for Best Documentary:
- Chris Boeckmann, Director of Programming, True/False Film Fest
- Ben Fowlie, Executive Director, Points North Institute; Founder, Camden International Film Festival
- Cynthia Fuchs, Contributing Editor, PopMatters; Director Film & Media Studies, George Mason University
- Tom Hall, Executive Director, Montclair Film
- Caroline Libresco, Curator, Producer, and Strategist
Nominating Committee for Best Actor and Best Actress:
- David Ehrlich, Senior Film Critic, Indiewire
- David Fear, Senior Editor/Critic, Rolling Stone
- Tim Grierson, Senior U.S. Critic, Screen Daily; Chief Film Critic, Paste Magazine
- Jessica Kiang, Film Critic, Variety, The Playlist, Sight & Sound
- Alissa Wilkinson, Film Critic, Vox
Nominating Committee for Breakthrough Actor:
- Kate Erbland, Deputy Editor, Film, IndieWire
- Jon Frosch, Reviews Editor, The Hollywood Reporter
- Odie Henderson, Reviewer, RogerEbert.com
- Tomris Laffly, Film Critic, Time Out New York, RogerEbert.com, Variety
- David Sims, Staff Writer, Culture, The Atlantic
Nominating Committee for Breakthrough Series
- Judy Berman, TV Critic, TIME
- Jen Chaney, TV Critic, Vulture
- Daniel Fienberg, Chief Television Critic, The Hollywood Reporter
- Caroline Framke, TV Critic, Variety
- Alan Sepinwall, Chief TV Critic, Rolling Stone
- Brian Tallerico, Editor, RogerEbert.com