*Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve and Adam Pearson in 'A Different Man.'* **Faces-Off-LLC**

The 2024 Gotham Awards delivered a night of surprises and emotional moments as A Different Man took home the top prize for Best Feature, while Nickel Boys and Sing Sing each claimed two awards at the star-studded ceremony held at New York’s Cipriani Wall Street on Monday night.

Director Aaron Schimberg of A Different Man, who was visibly stunned during his acceptance speech, confessed that he hadn't prepared any remarks. “Considering the other nominees, I thought it would be hubris to even consider preparing a speech. So I’m going to wing this,” Schimberg said, before going on to thank the Gotham Awards, his team, and the film’s stars Sebastian Stan and Adam Pearson. “I’m sorry I really didn’t prepare a better speech. I really didn’t see this as a possibility,” he added.

Despite leading the night with four nominations, including Best Feature, Sean Baker's Palme d’Or-winning Anora walked away empty-handed. The competition for Best Feature included Anora, Babygirl, Challengers, Nickel Boys, and the eventual winner, A Different Man. Nickel Boys had three nominations overall and emerged victorious in two categories: Best Director, awarded to RaMell Ross, and Breakthrough Performer, awarded to Brandon Wilson.

As Nickel Boys presenter Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor announced Wilson’s win, she was audibly surprised, and Wilson himself admitted his disbelief when he took the stage. “I wasn’t expecting this, honestly,” Wilson said, while humorously explaining that he removed his shoes because Ellis-Taylor also wasn’t wearing hers.

Sing Sing also had a big night, taking home both the Outstanding Lead Performance and Outstanding Supporting Performance awards. Colman Domingo won for his role in the lead category, while Clarence Maclin was awarded Best Supporting Performance.

Other films, including Babygirl, I Saw the TV Glow, Hard Truths, and The Fire Inside, which entered the night with multiple nominations, ultimately did not secure any wins.

Since 2021, the Gotham Awards have embraced gender-neutral acting categories. However, this year also marked the absence of TV categories from the fall awards show. Instead, The Gotham held a separate TV awards ceremony in June.

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In addition to the competitive awards, several individuals and films were honored with tributes. The Piano Lessonreceived the Ensemble Tribute; Franklin Leonard and the Black List were recognized with the Anniversary Tribute; Angelina Jolie was honored with the Performer Tribute for Maria; Zendaya received the Spotlight Tribute for Challengers; Sing Sing was awarded the Social Justice Tribute; Denis Villeneuve was celebrated with the Director Tribute for Dune: Part Two; and Timothée Chalamet and James Mangold received the Visionary Tribute for A Complete Unknown.

Maria director Pablo Larraín presented Angelina Jolie with her tribute, with Jolie noting that the day coincided with what would have been Maria Callas' 101st birthday. Jolie also took a moment to honor her mother, sharing how she introduced her to the arts and emphasizing the importance of early experiences in shaping one's connection to creativity. “Art is a way we come together to know each other, to laugh with each other and to understand each other,” Jolie said. “It’s why it’s so important that art is taught in our schools and so concerning that many of those programs are being reduced.”

Other presentations during the evening included Colman Domingo honoring Sing Sing with its tribute, Radhika Jones presenting to Franklin Leonard, Josh O’Connor presenting to Zendaya, and Zendaya later returning to honor Denis Villeneuve alongside Jake Gyllenhaal. Additionally, Zoë Kravitz presented The Piano Lesson with its Ensemble Tribute, and Oscar Isaac presented Timothée Chalamet and James Mangold with their Visionary Tribute for A Complete Unknown.

The Gotham Awards nominees were chosen by committees of critics, journalists, festival programmers, and film curators, with the final award recipients determined by separate juries made up of writers, directors, actors, producers, editors, and others directly involved in filmmaking.

Recent Gotham Awards winners have included Oscar favorites such as Everything Everywhere All at Once, CODA, Nomadland, Marriage Story, American Factory, Moonlight, Spotlight, and Birdman.

A complete list of this year’s

Gotham Awards winners follows.

Best Feature

Anora Sean Baker, director; Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, producers (NEON)

Babygirl Halina Reijn, director; David Hinojosa, Julia Oh, Halina Reijn, producers (A24)

Challengers Luca Guadagnino, director; Luca Guadagnino, Rachel O’Connor, Amy Pascal, Zendaya, producers (Amazon MGM Studios)

A Different Man, Aaron Schimberg, director; Gabriel Mayers, Vanessa McDonnell, Christine Vachon, producers (A24) (WINNER)

Nickel Boys RaMell Ross, director; Joslyn Barnes, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, David Levine, producers (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)

Best International Feature

All We Imagine as Light Payal Kapadia, director; Julien Graff, Thomas Hakim, producers (Sideshow and Janus Films) (WINNER)

Green Border Agnieszka Holland, director; Fred Bernstein, Agnieszka Holland, Marcin Wierzchoslawski, producers (Kino Lorber)

Hard Truths Mike Leigh, director; Georgina Lowe, producer (Bleecker Street)

Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell Thien An Pham, director; Jeremy Chua, Tran Van Thi, producers (Kino Lorber)

Vermiglio Maura Delpero, director; Francesca Andreoli, Maura Delpero, Santiago Fondevila Sance, Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli, producers (Sideshow and Janus Films)

Best Documentary Feature

Dahomey Mati Diop, director; Mati Diop, Judith Lou Lévy, Eve Robin, producers (MUBI)

Intercepted Oksana Karpovych, director; Darya Bassel, Olha Beskhmelnytsina, Rocío B. Fuentes, Giacomo Nudi, Lucie Rego Pauline Tran Van Lieu, producers (Grasshopper Film)

No Other Land Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor, directors; Fabien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge Rønning, producers (Antipode Films) (WINNER)

Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat Johan Grimonprez, director; Rémi Grellety, Daan Milius, producers (Kino Lorber)

Sugarcane Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie, directors; Emily Kassie, Kellen Quinn, producers (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Union Stephen Maing, Brett Story, directors; Samantha Curley, Mars Verrone, producers (Self-Distributed)

Best Director

Payal Kapadia, All We Imagine as Light (Sideshow and Janus Films)

Sean Baker, Anora (NEON)

Guan Hu, Black Dog (The Forge)

Jane Schoenbrun, I Saw the TV Glow (A24)

RaMell Ross, Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios) (WINNER)

Best Screenplay

*His Three Daughters. (L-R) Natasha Lyonne as Rachel, Elizabeth Olsen as Christina and Carrie Coon as Katie in His Three Daughters.* **Cr. Sam Levy/Netflix © 2024.Sam Levy/Netflix**

Between the Temples, Nathan Silver, C. Mason Wells (Sony Pictures Classics)

Evil Does Not Exist, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Sideshow and Janus Films)

Femme, Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping (Utopia)

His Three Daughters, Azazel Jacobs (Netflix) (WINNER)

Janet Planet, Annie Baker (A24)

Breakthrough Director

Vera Drew photo via ALTERED INNOCENCE

Shuchi Talati, Girls Will Be Girls (Juno Films, Inc)

India Donaldson, Good One (Metrograph Pictures)

Alessandra Lacorazza, In the Summers (Music Box Films)

Vera Drew, The People’s Joker (Altered Innocence) (WINNER)

Mahdi Fleifel, To a Land Unknown (Watermelon Pictures)

Outstanding Lead Performance

Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl (Roadside Attractions)

Adrien Brody, The Brutalist (A24)

Colman Domingo, Sing Sing (A24) (WINNER)

Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hard Truths (Bleecker Street)

Nicole Kidman, Babygirl (A24)

Keith Kupferer, Ghostlight (IFC Films)

Mikey Madison, Anora (NEON)

Demi Moore, The Substance (MUBI)

Saoirse Ronan, Outrun (Sony Pictures Classics)

Justice Smith, I Saw the TV Glow (A24)

Outstanding Supporting Performance

Yura Borisov, Anora (NEON)

Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain (Searchlight Pictures)

Danielle Deadwyler, The Piano Lesson (Netflix)

Brigette Lundy-Paine, I Saw the TV Glow (A24)

Natasha Lyonne, His Three Daughters (Netflix)

Clarence Maclin, Sing Sing (A24) (WINNER)

Katy O’Brian, Love Lies Bleeding (A24)

Guy Pearce, The Brutalist (A24)

Adam Pearson, A Different Man (A24)

Brian Tyree Henry, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios)

Breakthrough Performer

Lily Collias, Good One (Metrograph Pictures)

Ryan Destiny, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios)

Maisy Stella, My Old Ass (Amazon MGM Studios)

Izaac Wang, Dìdi (Focus Features)

Brandon Wilson, Nickel Boys (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios) (WINNER)

The results of the 2024 Gotham Awards are sure to have a significant impact on the upcoming award season. With A Different Man taking home the top honor for Best Feature and Nickel Boys and Sing Sing also making strong showings, these films have cemented themselves as key contenders moving forward. The victories for Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin will undoubtedly boost their awards campaigns, while the success of RaMell Ross and Brandon Wilson adds momentum to Nickel Boys. Meanwhile, Anora and Babygirl, despite their nominations, will need to find new strategies to gain traction as award season heats up. The Gotham Awards are often seen as an early indicator of trends, and this year’s winners could pave the way for the major awards, including the Oscars, to recognize these powerful and diverse stories. All eyes are now on how these films will leverage their Gotham wins to position themselves in the race for further accolades.

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