Gotham Awards
Independent film and series awards
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Gotham Awards are American film awards presented annually at a ceremony in New York City.
| Gotham Awards | |
|---|---|
| Current: Gotham Independent Film Awards 2025 | |
| |
| Awarded for | Independent film and television |
| Location | New York City |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | The Gotham Film & Media Institute |
| First award | 1991 |
| Website | awards |
The awards are a program of the Gotham Film & Media Institute (formerly the Independent Filmmaker Project or IFP), the United States' largest membership organization dedicated to independent film, founded in 1979.[1] First presented in 1991, the awards were originally created to showcase and honor films made primarily in the Northeastern United States.[1]
Name
The name "Gotham," (/ˈɡɒθəm/) a nickname for New York, was first popularized by native son Washington Irving in an 1807 issue of Salmagundi.[2]
Scope
In 2004, the awards' scope expanded significantly from a regional to a national and international focus. The number of award categories increased from six to nine, and eligibility was broadened to include films from Los Angeles, California, and international locations.[citation needed]
Venue
Having outgrown previous venues in Manhattan, the 17th Annual Gotham Awards ceremony was held for the first time in the Brooklyn borough on November 27, 2007. The gala took place at Steiner Studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard and was "promoted nationally via a partnership with The New York Times and locally via broadcast on WNYE."[2][1][3]
Categories
Current categories
- Tribute Award: since 1991
- Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award: since 1991 (formerly the Open Palm Award until 2002, and the Breakthrough Director Award from 2003 to 2012)
- Breakthrough Performer: since 1998 (known as the Award for Breakthrough Actor until 2020; not awarded in 2023)
- Best Feature: since 2004
- Best Documentary: since 2004
- Spotlight on Women Filmmakers "Live the Dream" Grant: since 2011
- Appreciation Award: since 2015
- Made in NY Award: since 2016
- Best International Feature: since 2020
- Outstanding Lead Performance: since 2021
- Outstanding Supporting Performance: since 2021
- Best Director: since 2024
- Best Original Screenplay: since 2025
- Best Adapted Screenplay: since 2025
From 1991 to 2002, the Tribute Award (also called Career Tribute) was presented as a single Lifetime Achievement Award. Individual achievement awards (e.g., Filmmaker, Writer, Actor) were given separately. Beginning with the 2003 ceremony, the IFP consolidated these individual categories into the Career Tribute awards.[4]
Discontinued categories
- Filmmaker Award: 1991–1997
- Below-the-Line Award: 1991–1998
- Writer Award: 1991–1998
- Producer/Industry Executive Award: 1991–1999
- Actor Award: 1991–2002
- Classical Film Tribute: 1999–2000
- Anthony Radziwell Documentary Achievement Award: 2000–2002
- Independent Vision Award: 2001 only
- Celebrate New York Award: 2004–2005
- Best Ensemble Cast: 2005–2012 (known as Best Ensemble Performance from 2008)
- Best Film Not Playing At Theater Near You: 2005–2012
- Special Jury Award for Ensemble Performance: 2014–2018
- Best Actor: 2013–2020
- Best Actress: 2013–2020
- Audience Award (Film): 2010–2020
- Breakthrough Series – Long Form: 2015–2023
- Breakthrough Series – Short Form: 2015–2023
- Outstanding Performance in a New Series: 2021–2023
- Breakthrough Nonfiction Series: 2021–2022 (reintroduced in 2024 as part of the Gotham TV Awards)
- Best Screenplay: 2015–2024
Ceremonies
| Edition | Date | Host(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | September 30, 1991 | Charles Grodin |
| 2nd | 1992 | |
| 3rd | September 28, 1993 | Eric Bogosian |
| 4th | September 20, 1994 | |
| 5th | September 19, 1995 | Michael Moore |
| 6th | September 17, 1996 | |
| 7th | September 16, 1997 | Jon Stewart |
| 8th | September 23, 1998 | Stanley Tucci |
| 9th | September 22, 1999 | Sandra Bernhard |
| 10th | September 20, 2000 | Jason Alexander |
| 11th | October 1, 2001 | Andy Dick |
| 12th | September 26, 2002 | Rosie Perez and John Turturro |
| 13th | September 22, 2003 | Michael Ian Black |
| 14th | December 1, 2004 | Bob Balaban |
| 15th | November 30, 2005 | Kyra Sedgwick |
| 16th | November 29, 2006 | David Cross |
| 17th | November 27, 2007 | Sarah Jones |
| 18th | December 2, 2008 | Aasif Mandvi |
| 19th | November 30, 2009 | Kumail Nanjiani |
| 20th | November 29, 2010 | Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci |
| 21st | November 28, 2011 | Edie Falco and Oliver Platt |
| 22nd | November 26, 2012 | Mike Birbiglia |
| 23rd | December 2, 2013 | Nick Kroll |
| 24th | December 1, 2014 | Uma Thurman |
| 25th | November 30, 2015 | Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer |
| 26th | November 28, 2016 | Keegan-Michael Key |
| 27th | November 27, 2017 | John Cameron Mitchell |
| 28th | November 26, 2018 | No host |
| 29th | December 2, 2019 | No host |
| 30th | January 11, 2021 | No host |
| 31st | November 29, 2021 | No host |
| 32nd | November 28, 2022 | No host |
| 33rd | November 27, 2023 | No host |
| 34th | December 2, 2024 | No host |
| 35th | December 1, 2025 | No host |
Gotham TV Awards
| Gotham TV Awards | |
|---|---|
| Current: 2nd Gotham TV Awards | |
 | |
| Awarded for | Television series and performances |
| Location | New York City |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | The Gotham Film & Media Institute |
| First award | 2024 |
| Website | tvawards |
In April 2024, the Gotham Film & Media Institute announced that television series and performances will be honored at a separate ceremony going forward with the first edition of the Gotham TV Awards taking place on June 4, 2024.[5][6] In previous years, television categories had been part of the main awards ceremony, where two television awards for new series were presented for the first time in 2015.[7] In 2021, two further awards, one for performance and one for non-fiction television, were introduced.[8][9] Out of the eight categories to be presented at the inaugural Gotham TV Awards only the award for Breakthrough Nonfiction Series had been given out before (in 2021 and 2022); the three other awards for series, the three awards for outstanding performances and the audience award for television were newly created.
Current categories
- Breakthrough Comedy Series: since 2024
- Breakthrough Drama Series: since 2024
- Breakthrough Limited Series: since 2024
- Breakthrough Nonfiction Series: since 2021 (part of the film awards ceremony from 2021 to 2022; not awarded in 2023)
- Outstanding Original Film, Broadcast, or Streaming: since 2025
- Outstanding Lead Performance in a Comedy Series: since 2024
- Outstanding Lead Performance in a Drama Series: since 2024
- Outstanding Lead Performance in a Limited Series: since 2024
- Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Comedy Series: since 2025
- Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Drama Series: since 2025
- Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Limited Series: since 2025
- Outstanding Performance in an Original Film: since 2025
- Audience Award (TV): since 2024
