IFP Gotham Awards Announced

Award season announcements usually time closer to the holidays, but hey, Christmas came early for Austin filmmakers given the nod by the IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards.

Richard Linklater and two filmmaking teams, David & Nathan Zellner and Julia Halperin & Jason Cortlund, all received nods for their 2012 work. Linklater's Bernie scored nominations for Best Feature and Best Ensemble Performance. The commercially and critically successful dark comedy opened this spring and recently premiered on DVD. (See our film review here and our interview with Linklater and star Matthew McConaughey here.)

Part-time Austinites/University of Texas alums Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin were co-nominated for Best Director Award for Now, Forager, while the Zellner Bros. received a nomination for Kid-Thing for Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You. The pair graced the Chronicle's cover back in July and have been making waves on the festival circuit since their Sundance world premiere last January. Former Austin dweller Alex Karpovsky also scored a nod in the Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You category for his feature Red Flag, recently profiled in the Chron here.

Additionally, voting is now open for the Audience Award prize. Nominees, which are culled from audience award winners at various U.S. and Canadian film festivals, include local productions like Bindlestiffs and Trash Dance.

 

IFP GOTHAM INDEPENDENT FILM AWARDS NOMINEES:

Best Feature:

Bernie
Richard Linklater, director; Richard Linklater, Ginger Sledge, Celine Rattray, Martin Shafer, Liz Glotzer, Matt Williams, David McFadzean, Judd Payne, Dete Meserve, producers (Millennium Entertainment)  

The Loneliest Planet
Julia Loktev, director; Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Helge Albers, Marie Therese Guirgis, producers (Sundance Selects)

The Master
Paul Thomas Anderson, director; Joanne Sellar, Daniel Lupi, Paul Thomas Anderson, Megan Ellison, producers (The Weinstein Company)  

Middle of Nowhere
Ava DuVernay, director; Howard Barish, Ava DuVernay, Paul Garnes, producers (AFFRM and Participant Media)  

Moonrise Kingdom
Wes Anderson, director; Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson, producers (Focus Features)  

Best Documentary:  

Detropia
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, directors; Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, Craig Atkinson, producers (Loki Films)  

How to Survive a Plague
David France, director; Howard Gertler, David France, producers (Sundance Selects)  

Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present
Matthew Akers, director; Jeff Dupre, Maro Chermayeff, producers (HBO Documentary Films and Music Box Films)  

Room 237
Rodney Ascher, director; Tim Kirk, producer (IFC Midnight)  

The Waiting Room
Peter Nicks, director; Peter Nicks, Linda Davis, William B. Hirsch, producers (International Film Circuit)  

  Best Ensemble Performance:

Bernie
Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey (Millennium Entertainment)  

Moonrise Kingdom
Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban (Focus Features)  

Safety Not Guaranteed
Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni, Jenica Bergere, Kristen Bell, Jeff Garlin, Mary Lynn Rajskub (Film District)  

Silver Linings Playbook
Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Anupam Kher (The Weinstein Company)  

Your Sister’s Sister
Emily Blunt, Rosemarie Dewitt, Mark Duplass (IFC Films)  

 

Breakthrough Director:

Zal Batmanglij for Sound of My Voice (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky for Francine (Factory 25 and The Film Sales Company)

Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin for Now, Forager (Argot Pictures)

Antonio Méndez Esparza for Aquí y Allá (Here and There) (Torch Films)

Benh Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight Pictures)  

Breakthrough Actor:

Mike Birbiglia in Sleepwalk with Me (IFC Films)

Emayatzy Corinealdi in Middle of Nowhere (AFFRM and Participant Media)

Thure Lindhardt in Keep the Lights On (Music Box Films)

Melanie Lynskey in Hello, I Must Be Going (Oscilloscope Laboratories)

Quvenzhané Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You:  

Kid-Thing
David Zellner, director; Nathan Zellner, Producer  

An Oversimplification of Her Beauty
Terence Nance, director; Terence Nance, Andrew Corkin, James Bartlett, producers  

Red Flag
Alex Karpovsky, director; Alex Karpovsky, Michael Bowes, producers  

Sun Don’t Shine
Amy Seimetz, director; Kim Sherman, Amy Seimetz, producers  

Tiger Tail in Blue
Frank V. Ross, director; Adam Donaghey, Drew Durepos, producers  

Spotlight on Women Filmmakers ‘Live the Dream’ Grant:

Leah Meyerhoff, director, I BELIEVE IN UNICORNS

Stacie Passon, director, CONCUSSION

Visra Vichit Vadakan, KARAOKE GIRL