On November 29, the Independent Filmmaker Project presented the 31 Gotham Independent Film Awards to celebrate the best in independent filmmaking and television. The ceremony was held at the Manhattan headquarters of the group, with guests attending in-person this year.

In addition to the merit-based awards, multiple individuals received honorary rewards. Actor Peter Dinklage, director Jane Campion, film executive Eamonn Bowles, late playwright Kathleen Collins, and the cast of The Harder They Fall are among those to receive such awards.

The Gotham awards signal a notable step within the awards season ecosystem. Although independent films rarely get to breakthrough among the higher studios, the ones that do typically see their promise at the Gotham Awards. Examples include the 2020 Best Picture winner Nomadland, which won Best Picture at the Gotham Awards, as well as 2020 Best Actor nominee Riz Ahmed and Jordan Peele’s 2017 Best Screenplay winner Get Out.

The Gotham Awards also gained particular attention this year for its decision to remove gendered acting categories, instead opting for larger Best Leading and Best Supporting performances for any actors to compete. The Gotham Awards are the first awards body to make this decision, representing a vital and important step in the discussion about creating a more inclusive awards and film industry.

Below is the full list of winners.

Best Feature

• The Green Knight
• The Lost Daughter
• Passing
• Pig
• Test Pattern

Best Documentary Feature

• Ascension 
• Faya Dayi
• Flee
• President
• Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Best International Feature

• Azor
• Drive My Car
• The Souvenir Part II
• Titane
• What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?
• The Worst Person in the World

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award

• Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter
• Edson Oda – Nine Days
• Rebecca Hall – Passing
• Emma Seligman – Shiva Baby
• Shatara Michelle Ford – Test Pattern 

Best Screenplay

• Paul Schrader – The Card Counter
• David Lowery – The Green Knight
• Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter
• Rebecca Hall – Passing
• Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch – Red Rocket

Outstanding Lead Performance

• Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter
• Frankie Faison – The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain 
• Michael Greyeyes – Wild Indian
• Brittany S. Hall – Test Pattern
• Oscar Isaac – The Card Counter
• Taylour Paige – Zola
• Joaquin Phoenix – C’mon C’mon
• Simon Rex – Red Rocket
• Lili Taylor – Paper Spiders
• Tessa Thompson – Passing 

Outstanding Supporting Performance

• Reed Birney – Mass
• Jessie Buckley – The Lost Daughter
• Colman Domingo – Zola
• Gaby Hoffmann – C’mon C’mon 
• Troy Kotsur – CODA
• Marlee Matlin – CODA
• Ruth Negga – Passing

Breakthrough Performer

• Emilia Jones – CODA
• Natalie Morales – Language Lessons
• Rachel Sennott – Shiva Baby
• Suzanna Son – Red Rocket
• Amalia Ulman – El Planeta

Breakthrough Series – Long Format

• The Good Lord Bird
• It’s A Sin
• Small Axe
• Squid Game
• The Underground Railroad
• The White Lotus

Breakthrough Series – Short Format

• Blindspotting
• Hacks
• Reservation Dogs
• Run the World
• We Are Lady Parts

Breakthrough Nonfiction Series

• City So Real
• Exterminate All the Brutes
• How To with John Wilson
• Philly D.A.
• Pride

Outstanding Performance in a New Series

• Jennifer Coolidge – The White Lotus
• Michael Greyeyes – Rutherford Falls
• Ethan Hawke – The Good Lord Bird
• Devery Jacobs – Reservation Dogs
• Lee Jung-jae – Squid Game
• Thuso Mbedu – The Underground Railroad
• Jean Smart – Hacks
• Omar Sy – Lupin
• Anya Taylor-Joy – The Queen’s Gambit
• Anjana Vasan – We Are Lady Parts

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