Gotham Independent Film Awards: 'The Work,' 'Strong Island,' Fred Wiseman score nominations

Gotham announcement offers a forecast of possible awards season favorites

Awards season is rumbling to life with the announcement today of the Gotham Independent Film Awards nominations, providing a glimpse of documentaries to be reckoned with as 2017 heads to a close.

The Work directed by Jairus McLeary -- winner of the top documentary prize at SXSW --  earned a place among the five nominees for best documentary. The film -- centering on an intense four-day group therapy session at California's Folsom Prison -- opens theatrically in Los Angeles next Wednesday (October 25) and in New York next Friday (October 27).
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This year offered a bountiful array of diverse, creative work that represents the very best from this community.

--Joana Vicente, IFP executive director 

At age 87, Frederick Wiseman earned a nomination for his latest documentary, Ex Libris: The New York Public Library. The 42nd documentary directed by Wiseman premiered at the Venice Film Festival in early September, followed quickly by its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. 

Director Frederick Wiseman attends the world premiere of his film "Ex Libris: The New York Public Library" at the Venice Film Festival. September 4, 2017. Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Joining Ex Libris and The Work are three films focusing on matters of race in America, among them Strong Island directed by Yance Ford and Whose Streets? from director Sabaah Folayan.

Ford's film examines the death of her brother, an unarmed African-American man, at the hands of a white assailant who was never charged with a crime. Folayan's documentary powerfully explores the reaction to the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and the media narratives that developed around Brown's killing at the hands of a white police officer who was not indicted.

Rat Film, directed by Theo Anthony, links Baltimore's rodent problem to a history of racial segregation and injustice in the city. 

From the New York Times review of "Rat Film" published September 14, 2017

"Nominees are selected by committees of film critics, journalists, festival programmers, and film curators," according to the press release announcing the nominations. The awards recognize independent feature films, acting performances, screenplays and television series, along with documentaries. The awards ceremony will take place Monday, November 27 at Cipriani Wall Street in Manhattan.

The full list of nominees as provided by the Independent Filmmaker Project: 

Best Feature  
 
Call Me by Your Name 
Luca Guadagnino, director; Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges, Rodrigo Teixeira, Marco Morabito, James Ivory, Howard Rosenman, producers (Sony Pictures Classics) 
 
The Florida Project 
Sean Baker, director; Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch, Kevin Chinoy, Andrew Duncan, Alex Saks, Francesca Silvestri, Shih-Ching Tsou, producers (A24) 
 
Get Out 
Jordan Peele, director; Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm, Jr., Jordan Peele, producers (Universal Pictures) 
 
Good Time 
Josh and Benny Safdie, directors; Paris Kasidokostas-Latsis, Terry Dougas, Sebastian Bear-McClard, Oscar Boyson, producers (A24) 
 
I, Tonya 
Craig Gillespie, director; Bryan Unkeless, Steven Rogers, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, producers (NEON) 


Best Documentary 
 
Ex Libris – The New York Public Library  
Frederick Wiseman, director and producer (Zipporah Films) 
 
Rat Film 
Theo Anthony, director; Riel Roch-Decter, Sebastian Pardo, producers (MEMORY and Cinema Guild) 
 
Strong Island 
Yance Ford, director; Yance Ford, Joslyn Barnes, producers (Netflix) 
 
Whose Streets? 
Sabaah Folayan, Damon Davis, directors; Sabaah Folayan, Damon Davis, Jennifer MacArthur, Flannery Miller, producers (Magnolia Pictures) 
 
The Work 
Jairus McLeary, director;  Alice Henty, Eon McLeary, Jairus McLeary, Miles McLeary, producers (The Orchard and First Look Media) 
 


Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award 


Maggie Betts for Novitiate (Sony Pictures Classics) 


Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird (A24) 


Kogonada for Columbus (Superlative Films/Depth of Field) 


Jordan Peele for Get Out (Universal Pictures) 


Joshua Z Weinstein for Menashe (A24) 
 
 
Best Screenplay 
 
The Big Sick, Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani (Amazon Studios) 


Brad’s Status, Mike White (Amazon Studios) 


Call Me by Your Name, James Ivory (Sony Pictures Classics) 


Columbus, Kogonada (Superlative Films/Depth of Field) 


Get Out, Jordan Peele (Universal Pictures) 


Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig (A24)  
 
 
Best Actor* 
 
Willem Dafoe in The Florida Project (A24) 


James Franco in The Disaster Artist (A24) 


Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out (Universal Pictures) 


Robert Pattinson in Good Time (A24) 


Adam Sandler in The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (Netflix) 


Harry Dean Stanton in Lucky (Magnolia Pictures) 
 
 
Best Actress* 
 
Melanie Lynskey in I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore (Netflix) 


Haley Lu Richardson in Columbus (Superlative Films/Depth of Field) 


Margot Robbie in I, Tonya (NEON) 


Saoirse Ronan in Lady Bird (A24) 


Lois Smith in Marjorie Prime (FilmRise) 
 
 
Breakthrough Actor  


Mary J. Blige in Mudbound (Netflix) 


Timothée Chalamet in Call Me by Your Name (Sony Pictures Classics) 


Harris Dickinson in Beach Rats (NEON) 


Kelvin Harrison, Jr. in It Comes at Night (A24) 


Brooklynn Prince in The Florida Project (A24) 
 
 
* The 2017 Best Actor/Best Actress nominating committee also voted to award a special Gotham Jury Award for ensemble performance to Mudbound, The award will go to actors Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Mary J. Blige, Rob Morgan, and Jonathan Banks. 
 
 
Breakthrough Series – Long Form 
 
Atlanta, Donald Glover, creator; Donald Glover, Dianne McGunigle, Paul Simms, executive producers (FX Networks) 
 
Better Things, Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K., creators; Dave Becky, M. Blair Breard, Louis C.K., Pamela Adlon, executive producers (FX Networks) 
 
Dear White People, Justin Simien, creator; Yvette Lee Bowser, Justin Simien, Stephanie Allain, Julia Lebedev, executive producers (Netflix) 
 
Fleabag, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, creator; Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Harry Williams, Jack Williams, executive producers (Amazon) 
 
Search Party, Sarah-Violet Bliss, Charles Rogers, Michael Showalter, creators; Sarah-Violet Bliss, Charles Rogers, Michael Showalter, Tony Hernandez, Lilly Burns,  executive producers (TBS) 
 
 
Breakthrough Series – Short Form 
 
555, Kate Berlant, Andrew DeYoung and John Early, creators (Vimeo) 
Inconceivable, Joel Ashton McCarthy, creator (YouTube) 
Junior, Zoe Cassavetes, creator (Blackpills and VICE) 
Let Me Die a Nun, Sarah Salovaara, creator (Vimeo) 
The Strange Eyes of Dr. Myes, Nancy Andrews, creator (YouTube) 
 
(Additional credits to be determined.) 
 
 
Twenty-eight writers, critics and programmers participated in the nomination process. The  
Nominating Committees for the 2017 IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards were: 
 
Nominating Committee for Best Feature, Best Screenplay, and Breakthrough Director: 
Justin Chang, Film Critic, Los Angeles Times 
Peter Debruge, Chief Film Critic, Variety 
Christy Lemire, Film Critic, RogerEbert.com; Co-host of What the Flick?!  
David Rooney, Chief Theater Critic, The Hollywood Reporter  
Joshua Rothkopf, Global Deputy Film Editor, Time Out New York 
 
 
Nominating Committee for Best Documentary: 
Ben Fowlie, Executive Director, Points North Institute; Founder, Camden International Film Festival 
Cynthia Fuchs, Film & TV Reviews, PopMatters; Director of Film & Media Studies, George Mason University 
Eric Kohn, Deputy Editor & Chief Critic, Indiewire 
Mike Maggiore, Programmer, Film Forum 
Alissa Wilkinson, Film Critic, Vox 
 
Nominating Committee for Best Actor and Best Actress: 
A.A. Dowd, Film Editor, The A.V. Club 
David Ehrlich, Senior Film Critic, Indiewire 
Tim Grierson, Senior U.S. Critic, Screen International; Chief Film Critic, Paste 
Sheila O’Malley, Writer/Film Critic, RogerEbert.com, The Sheila Variations 
Alison Willmore, Film Critic, BuzzFeed News; Co-host Filmspotting: Streaming Video Unit 
 
Nominating Committee for Breakthrough Actor: 
Bilge Ebiri, Film Critic, Village Voice 
David Sims, Senior Associate Editor, The Atlantic 
Brian Tallerico, Film Editor, RogerEbert.com 
Katie Walsh, Film Critic, Tribune Content Agency, Los Angeles Times 
Emily Yoshida, Film Critic, New York Magazine/Vulture.com 
 
Nominating Committee for Breakthrough Series – Long Form: 
Sophie Gilbert, Staff Writer, Culture, The Atlantic 
Tim Goodman, Chief Television Critic, The Hollywood Reporter 
Liz Shannon Miller, TV Editor, Indiewire 
Sonia Saraiya, TV Critic, Variety 
Matt Zoller Seitz, Editor-in-Chief, RogerEbert.com; TV Critic, New York Magazine/Vulture.com 
 
 
Nominating Committee for Breakthrough Series – Short Form: 
Jude Dry, Reporter, Critic, Indiewire 
Randi Kleiner, Founder & CEO, SeriesFest 
Paula Mejia, Associate Editor, Atlas Obscura; Author, Jesus and Mary Chain’s Psychocandy

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