It was a big night for Netflix and Marriage Story at the 2019 Gotham Awards which saw the streamer making big strides with the independent movie community.
Marriage Story won four top prizes — best feature, best actor (Adam Driver), best screenplay (Noah Baumbach) and the audience award — besting competition from the likes of The Farewell and Uncut Gems. Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert’s American Factory won best documentary, topping chief rivals Apollo 11, from Neon, and One Child Nation, from Amazon.
Netflix also scored a win with Ava DuVernay’s limited series When They See Us which was announced as the winner of the best breakthrough series – long-form. When it was all said and done, Netflix claimed five of the eight film-specific awards for the night.
The Farewell‘s Awkwafina won best actress over the likes of Clemency‘s Alfre Woodard, Midsommar‘s Florence Pugh and Her Smell‘s Elisabeth Moss, Oscar contenders all. Most assume that the corresponding Oscar race has only two open slots, with three assured for Judy‘s Renee Zellweger, Bombshell‘s Charlize Theron, and Marriage Story‘s Scarlett Johansson, although she was snubbed for the Gotham Awards when it came to a nomination. It will be interesting to see who may fill the other two slots for Best Actress as the Oscar race heats up.
A24 gained another win when Waves‘ Taylor Russell was named best breakthrough actor/actress. And Focus picked up one when The Mustang‘s Laure De Clermont-Tonnerre won best breakthrough director over higher-profile competition including Booksmart‘s Olivia Wilde.
Check out the full list of winners below:
2019 IFP Gotham Awards – Winners
BEST FEATURE
Marriage Story (Netflix)
BEST ACTOR
Adam Driver
Marriage Story (Netflix)
BEST ACTRESS
Awkwafina
The Farewell (A24)
BEST DOCUMENTARY
American Factory
BEST SCREENPLAY
Marriage Story – Noah Baumbach
BREAKTHROUGH ACTOR
Taylor Russell
Waves (A24)
AUDIENCE AWARD
Marriage Story (Netflix)
BINGHAM RAY BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTOR AWARD
Laure De Clermont-Tonnerre
The Mustang (Focus Features)
BREAKTHROUGH SERIES – SHORT FORM
PEN15
Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, Sam Zvibleman, creators; Anna Konkle, Sam Zvibleman, Debbie Liebling, Gabe Liedman, Marc Provissiero, Brooke Pobjoy, Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer, Becky Sloviter, Shelley Zimmerman, Brin Lukens, Jordan Levin, executive producers (Hulu)
BREAKTHROUGH SERIES – LONG FORM
When They See Us
Ava DuVernay, creator; Jeff Skoll, Jonathan King, Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro, Berry Welsh, Oprah Winfrey, Ava DuVernay, executive producers (Netflix)
