Gotham Independent Film Awards to be webcast live on Monday, Nov. 30

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The Gotham Independent Film Awards, selected by distinguished juries and presented in New York City, the home of independent film, are the first honors of the film awards season, and this season the public can watch them live via UStream.

The awards ceremony will be held at Cipriani Wall Street on Monday, November 30 at 7:30 p.m. (EST). As previously announced, career tributes will be presented as part of the ceremony to actors Natalie Portman and Stanley Tucci, filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow and producer/executives Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, Co-Chairman of Working Title Films.

The public showcase honors the filmmaking community, expands the audience for independent films, and supports the work that the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) does behind the scenes throughout the year to bring such films to fruition.

As with any awards show leading up to the Big One, it can also be an indicator of how films may fare elsewhere. A total of 23 films were nominated across six competitive categories for Best Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor, Best Ensemble Performance and Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You. "Big Fan" and "The Hurt Locker" tied for most nominations, with three each.

The nominees for the 19th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards are:

Best Feature
"Amreeka"
(Cherien Dabis, director; Christina Piovesan, Paul Barkin, producers; National Geographic Entertainment)
"Big Fan"
(Robert Siegel, director; Jean Kouremetis, Elan Bogarin, producers; First Independent Pictures)
"The Hurt Locker"
(Kathryn Bigelow, director; Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier, Greg Shapiro, producers; Summit Entertainment)
"The Maid"
(Sebastian Silva, director; Gregorio Gonzàles, producer; Elephant Eye Films)
"A Serious Man?"
(Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, directors/producers; Focus Features)

Best Documentary
"Food, Inc."
(Robert Kenner, director; Robert Kenner, Elise Pearlstein, producers; Magnolia Pictures)
"Good Hair"
(Jeff Stilson, director; Chris Rock, Kevin O'Donnell, Nelson George Jenny Hunter, producers; Liddell Entertainment and Roadside Attractions in association with HBO Films)
"My Neighbor My Killer"
(Anne Aghion, director/producer; Gacaca Productions)
"Paradise"
(Michael Almereyda, director; Michael Almereyda, Laurie Butler, producers; Post Factory Films)
"Tyson"
(James Toback, director; James Toback, Damon Bingham, producers; Sony Pictures Classics)

Best Ensemble Performance
"Adventureland"
(Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Martin Starr, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Ryan Reynolds, Margarita Levieva; Miramax Films)
"Cold Souls"
(Lauren Ambrose, Paul Giamatti, Dina Korzun, Emily Watson, Katheryn Winnick, David Strathairn; Samuel Goldwyn Films)
"The Hurt Locker"
(Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce, David Morse, Evangeline Lilly; Summit Entertainment)
"A Serious Man"
(Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick; Focus Features)
"Sugar"
(Algenis Perez Soto, Rayniel Rufino, Michael Gaston, Andre Holland, Ann Whitney, Richard Bull, Ellary Porterfield, Jaime Tirelli; Sony Pictures Classics)

Breakthrough Director
Cruz Angeles for "Don't Let Me Drown"
Frazer Bradshaw for "Everything Strange"
NewDerick Martini for "Lymelife" (all Screen Media Films)
Robert Siegel for "Big Fan" (First Independent Pictures)

Breakthrough Actor
Ben Foster in "The Messenger" (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Patton Oswalt in "Big Fan" (First Independent Pictures)
Jeremy Renner in "The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment)?
Catalina Saavedra in "The Maid" (Elephant Eye Films)?
Souléymane Sy Savané in "Goodbye Solo" (Roadside Attractions)

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You
"Everything Strange and New"
(Frazer Bradshaw, director; Laura Techera Francia, A.D. Liano, producers)
"Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench"
(Damien Chazelle, director; Jasmine McGlade, producer)
"October Country"
(Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher, directors/producers)
"You Wont Miss Me"
(Ry Russo-Young, director/producer)
"Zero Bridge"
(Tariq Tapa, director; Tariq Tapa, Josée Lajoie, Hilal Ahmed Langoo, producers)

As the first major awards of the film season, the Gotham Independent Film Awards provide critical early recognition and media attention to worthy independent films. Previous winners for Best Feature and Best Documentary include "Frozen River" (2008), "Trouble the Water" (2008), "Into the Wild" (2007), "Sicko" (2007), "Half Nelson" (2006), "Iraq in Fragments" (2006), "Capote" (2005), "Murderball" (2005), "Sideways" (2004) and "The Agronomist" (2004). The awards are also unique for their ability to assist in catapulting its Breakthrough Actor recipients prominently into national awards season attention, including recent winners and ultimate Oscar contenders: Melissa Leo (2008), Ellen Page (2007), Rinko Kikuchi (2006), Amy Adams (2005) and Catalina Sandino Moreno (2004).

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