‘The Gotham Independent Film Awards’ celebrate the best of the Indie films released every year, and 2018 has been particularly a splendid year for Independent films. The new pool of talented film-makers like Josephine Decker, Chloe Zhao, Bo Burham, Boots Riley and Jim Cummings is re-writing the grammar of Independent cinema.
Established film-makers like Yorgos Lanthimos, Paul Schrader and Spike Lee are retreating from the comforts of the major studios into much lower-budgeted efforts that offer them the opportunity to do things differently. They voice the current socio-political, economic and artistic state through the Indie film-making that gives them a platform and scope to experiment without the interference of anyone.
The 2018 Gotham Independent Film Awards were awarded on Monday night in New York. Chloe Zhao’s second feature, ‘The Rider’ is an astonishing work of art, blending real-life people with a fictional story. It tells an intimate story of the American dream & masculinity. The film took home the top prize of best feature beating Paul Schrader’s ‘First Reformed’, Yorgos Lanthimos’s ‘The Favorite’, Josephine Decker’s ‘Madeline’s Madeline’ and Barry Jenkins’s ‘If Beale Street Could Talk.’
Best Feature
“First Reformed”
“The Favourite”
“Madeline’s Madeline”
“If Beale Street Could Talk”
“The Rider”
Must Read: The Rider [2018] – An Intimate and Heartbreaking Ride
Best Screenplay
Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara, “The Favorite”
Cory Finley, “Thoroughbreds”
Paul Schrader, “First Reformed”
Tamara Jenkins, “Private Life”
Andrew Bujalski, “Support the Girls”
Related: First Reformed [2018] – Spiritual Collapse Under Crisis of Faith
Best Actor
Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”
Ben Foster, “Leave No Trace”
Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Ethan Hawke, “First Reformed”
Lakeith Stanfield, “Sorry to Bother You”
Related: BlacKkKlansman [2018] – A Spike Lee Joint
Best Actress
Glenn Close, “The Wife”
Toni Collette, “Hereditary”
Kathryn Hahn, “Private Life”
Regina Hall, “Support the Girls”
Michelle Pfeiffer, “Where is Kyra?”
Recommended Read: Hereditary [2018] – An Unsettling Family Drama that will Leave you Cold!
Breakthrough Actor
Thomasin Harcourt, “Leave No Trace”
Helena Howard, “Madeline’s Madeline”
Kiki Layne, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
Elsie Fisher, “Eighth Grade”
Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”
Related: Eighth Grade [2018] – A Captivating and Heartfelt Portrait of Modern Teenage Life
Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Bo Burnham, “Eighth Grade”
Ari Aster, “Hereditary”
Boots Riley, “Sorry to Bother You”
Crystal Moselle, “Skate Kitchen”
Jennifer Fox, “The Tale”
Best Documentary
“Bisbee ‘17”
“Hale County This Morning, This Evening”
“Minding the Gap”
“Shirkers”
“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
Special Jury Award For Ensemble Performance
“The Favourite”: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz
IFP Gotham Audience Award
“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
Breakthrough Series – Long Form
“Alias Grace”
“Big Mouth”
“The End of the F***ing World”
“Killing Eve”
“Pose”
“Sharp Objects”
Breakthrough Series – Short Form
“195 Lewis”
“Cleaner Daze”
“Distance”
“The F Word”
“She’s the Ticket”
