New York, NY (October 4, 2017) – The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the nation’s premier member organization of independent filmmakers and storytellers, announced today that two-time Academy Award® and six-time Golden Globe winning actor Dustin Hoffman will receive the Actor Tribute and Academy Award® nominated director Sofia Coppola will receive the Director Tribute at the 2017 IFP Gotham Awards.

The first awards show of the season, the IFP Gotham Awards is one of the leading honors for independent film and media, providing critical early recognition to groundbreaking independent films and their writers, directors, producers, and actors with ten competitive awards categories.  The IFP Gotham Awards also honors selected film industry icons as tributes each year. The ceremony will be held on Monday, November 27, 2017, at Cipriani Wall Street, New York City. 

“We are thrilled to present Dustin Hoffman with the Actor Tribute. Starting with his breakthrough role in the timeless classic The Graduate to his highly praised turn in his upcoming film, The Meyerowitz Stories, Dustin’s wide range of roles – often portraying antiheroes or the marginalized – and the creative choices he has embodied in these complex characters, has firmly placed him amongst the most compelling actors to have graced the screen,” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director of IFP and the Made in NY Media Center. “We are equally delighted to present Sofia with the Director Tribute this year. Sofia continues to shatter the glass ‘lens’ in our industry, being only the second woman in Cannes history to win Best Director. From the indelible impression her films have on audiences, to her singular vision and aesthetic, which underscore her subtle commentary on society and culture, Sofia has made a lasting contribution to the art of film.”  

Dustin Hoffman gained universal attention in his role as Benjamin Braddock in Mike Nichols’ The Graduate, for which he was nominated for his first Academy Award® for Best Actor. Since then, he has gone on to win two Academy Awards® for Kramer vs. Kramer and Rain Man and receive four additional nominations for Midnight Cowboy, Lenny, Tootsie and Wag The Dog.  Other film credits include: Straw Dogs, Papillon, All the President’s Men, Marathon Man, and I Heart Huckabees.  

Hoffman stars in Noah Baumbach’s highly anticipated upcoming feature, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected), alongside Ben Stiller, Emma Thompson and Adam Sandler. The film premiered in competition at the Cannes International Film Festival this past May – to standing ovations, and will screen at the current edition of the New York Film Festival.  Netflix will release the film on October 13, 2017. 

In 1984, Hoffman garnered a Drama Desk Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Willy Loman in the Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman, which he also produced. In addition to starring in the Broadway production, a special presentation aired on television for which Hoffman won the Emmy® Award. Additionally, Hoffman received a Tony® Award nomination for his role as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, which he reprised from his long run on the London Stage.  

In addition to his celebrated acting both on stage and on screen, Hoffman made his directorial debut with the feature film Quartet, based on Ronald Harwood’s stage play. The film was recognized by the National Board of Review for being one of the “Top Ten Independent Films” in 2012. Hoffman was also awarded with the Breakthrough Director Award by the Hollywood Film Awards.  

In 1997, he was awarded the Golden Globe’s esteemed Cecil B. DeMille Award, and an Honorary César Medal at the 2009 César Awards. Hoffman was also recognized at the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors.  

Sofia Coppola’s unique signature as a filmmaker was showcased in her directional debut, the exquisitely executed The Virgin Suicides, which she adapted from Pulitzer Prize-winner Jeffrey Eugenides’ novel of the same name. The movie starred Kirsten Dunst, and was the start of a long-standing collaboration between the two.  

She garnered the Academy Award® for Best Original Screenplay as well as Academy Award® nominations for Best Director and Best Picture in her sophomore feature, Lost In Translation, starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. Her third feature as writer/director, Marie Antoinette, starring Dunst, was based in part on Antonia Fraser’s biography Marie Antoinette: The Journey, and had its world premiere at the Cannes International Film Festival.  

Coppola wrote, directed and produced Somewhere, starring Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning, which was shot at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles.  Her fifth film, The Bling Ring, which is based on true events, follows a group of teenagers on a thrilling and disturbing crime-spree in the Hollywood Hills, with an ensemble cast starring Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, Katie Chang and Leslie Mann. Coppola wrote, produced and directed A Very Murray Christmas, which was released by Netflix in December 2015.  The film stars Bill Murray who rounds up an all-star cast for an evening of music, comedy and good cheer in this homage to classic holiday variety shows. 

Coppola’s most recent film is the atmospheric thriller, The Beguiled, starring Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning and Colin Farrell.  Focus Features released the film in June 2017.  Coppola made history this year as only the second woman to win the Best Director prize at the Cannes Film Festival for The Beguiled, and the first woman to win since 1961. 

In addition to her film career, Coppola directed a production of Verdi’s classic, “La Traviata” at the Rome Opera House, for which she has teamed up with fashion designer Valentino Garavani and production designer Nathan Crowley.  

IFP recently announced that Nicole Kidman will receive the Actress Tribute, former Vice President Al Gore the Humanitarian Tribute, Ed Lachman the Cinematographers Tribute, and Film Producer and Founder of Blumhouse Productions Jason Blum the Industry Tribute at the 2017 IFP Gotham Awards. 

This year’s honorees will join a distinguished group of previous honorees, including Oliver Stone, Arnon Milchan, Ethan Hawke, Amy Adams, Helen Mirren, Robert Redford, Tilda Swinton, Todd Haynes, Jeff Skoll, Ted Sarandos, James Schamus, Bob & Harvey Weinstein, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sheila Nevins, Jonathan Sehring, Roger Ebert, Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Natalie Portman, Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, David O. Russell, David Cronenberg, Mira Nair, Gus Van Sant, and more. 

Each year IFP chooses a jury of stellar peers from the documentary, feature film and TV industry to award the Gotham’s competitive awards. The ten competitive IFP Gotham Awards for 2017 include Best Feature, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Documentary, Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor, Audience Award, Best Screenplay, Breakthrough Series – Short Form, and Breakthrough Series – Long Form. Once again this year, the IFP Gotham Audience Award (the only non-juried category) will be open to voting by IFP Members worldwide as a benefit of membership. Voting will take place online in November. 

The Premier Sponsor of the 2017 IFP Gotham Awards is The New York Times, and the Platinum Sponsors are Underground Lauderdale/Film, Music, Fashion & Create and Greenslate. Additionally, the awards will be promoted nationally in an eight-page special advertising section in The New York Times in November 2017. 

Nominees will be announced on October 19th and winners will be honored at the star-studded ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street on November 27th. To purchase tables or tickets to attend, please contact Steven Pfeiffer by email at [email protected], or by phone at (212) 465-8200 Ext. 219. 

The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) champions the future of storytelling by connecting artists with essential resources at all stages of development and distribution. The organization fosters a vibrant and sustainable independent storytelling community through its year-round programs, which include Independent Film Week, Filmmaker Magazine, the IFP Gotham Awards and the Made in NY Media Center by IFP, a tech and media incubator space developed with the New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. 

IFP represents a growing network of storytellers around the world, and plays a key role in developing 350 new feature and documentary works each year. During its 38-year history, IFP has supported over 10,000+ projects and offered resources to more than 20,000+ filmmakers, including Barry Jenkins, Laura Poitras, Debra Granik, Miranda July, Michael Moore, Dee Rees, and Benh Zeitlin. More info at www.ifp.org. 

About the IFP Gotham Awards  

The IFP Gotham Awards, selected by distinguished juries and presented in New York City, the home of independent film, are the first honors of the film awards season. This public showcase honors the filmmaking community, expands the audience for independent films, and supports the work that IFP does behind the scenes throughout the year to bring such films to fruition. 

For information on attending: http://gotham.ifp.org 

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