Gotham Awards Nominations 2023: 5 Key Takeaways

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The Gotham Awards, which recognizes the best productions, directors, and actors in independent film, has announced its nominations for the year 2023. With a wide range of productions, this year’s nominations showcase the best of the best in indie films. Read on below to learn more about the Gotham Awards and for three key takeaways from this year’s nominations.

What are the Gotham Awards?

The Gotham Awards are a set of awards that are presented annually to independent filmmakers and television makers by The Gotham Film & Media Institute. The awards ceremony is held in New York City, nicknamed ‘Gotham.’ Awards were originally only given to filmmakers from New York and the surrounding states, but the ceremony has opened up over time to recognizing independent filmmakers from around the world.

There are 16 award categories in the Gotham Awards, which include the Tribute Award, Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award, Breakthrough Performer, Best Feature, Best Documentary, Spotlight on Women Filmmakers “Live the Dream” Grant, Best Screenplay, Breakthrough Series – Long Form, Breakthrough Series – Short Form, Appreciation Award, Made in NY Award, Best International Feature, Outstanding Lead Performance, Outstanding Supporting Performance, Outstanding Performance in a New Series and Breakthrough Nonfiction Series.

No More Budget Constraints

Fans of the Gotham Awards will be surprised to see a few big-budget movies on this year’s nomination list. To go along with the independent film theme, the awards previously had a budget cap of $35 million for entries, but earlier this year, the Gotham Film & Media Institute removed that requirement.

Without a budget cap, blockbuster movies such as the $145 million production ‘Barbie’ are now eligible to be submitted, taking some of the limelight off of smaller indie films.

The Tribute Award Winners

One of the awards given out by the Gotham Film & Media Institute each year is the Tribute Award, the winners of which are announced at the time of the nominations.

The winners of this year’s Tribute Award have been announced as the films ‘Air,’ ‘Ferrari,’ ‘Maestro,’ and ‘Rustin.’ ‘Air’ will receive the Visionary Icon and Creator Tribute, ‘Ferrari’ will receive the Icon and Creator Tribute for Innovation, ‘Maestro’ will receive the Cultural Icon and Creator Tribute, and ‘Rustin’ will receive the Creator Tribute for Social Justice.

Familiar Names

Although the independent film criteria means that many of the directors and actors involved in Gotham Award-nominated movies aren’t widely known, there are a few familiar Hollywood names listed in the nominations this year.

Some well-known names in the Outstanding Supporting Performance category include Ryan Gosling for his role as Ken in ‘Barbie’ and Jamie Foxx for his role as Slick Charles in the Netflix series ‘They Cloned Tyrone.’ Steven Yeun and Ali Wong were both nominated for Outstanding Performance in a New Series for their work in the Netflix series ‘Beef’, and Jeffrey Wright was nominated for Outstanding Lead Performance for his role as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison in the film ‘American Fiction.’