Nominees Announced For Inaugural IFP Gotham Awards For Serialized Content
by Erik Luers on October 27, 2015
New York, NY (October 27, 2015) – The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the nation’s premier member organization of independent storytellers, announced today the Breakthrough Series nominees for the 25th Annual IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards. The Gotham Awards ceremony will be held on Monday, November 30th at Cipriani Wall Street.
In recognition that the spirit and vision of the best of ‘independent film’ is also realized in content created for a variety of platforms in a variety of lengths and formats, 2015 marks the first year that the IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards will acknowledge serialized television and web content. Two awards given in Long and Short form, Breakthrough Series will honor exceptionally realized new series that expand the possibilities of creative, independent storytelling. Ten series received nominations, with five nominees per category.
The Breakthrough Series awards honor series that premiered September 1, 2014 – August 30, 2015. Nominees have been made by committee recommendation and not through open submission review. Committees are comprised of critics, journalists, curators, programmers and others not directly engaged in the production and distribution of TV and new media content. Separate juries of writers, directors, actors, producers, editors, and others will determine the final Gotham Award recipients.
“We are thrilled this year to include creators working in serialized content, where so much innovative and risk-taking work now thrives,” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director of IFP and the Made in NY Media Center. “As we have for many years in film, the IFP Gotham Awards now shines a spotlight on the bold, creative and diverse visions represented through the nominees. This is a particularly exciting year, as 9 out of 10 of the inaugural nominated series were created by women and we are thrilled to be able to recognize their work.”
Breakthrough Series awards honor series that premiered September 1, 2014 – August 30, 2015.
The 2015 IFP Gotham Independent Film Award Breakthrough Series nominations are:
Breakthrough Series – Long Form*
A continuing or limited series with episodes running 30 minutes or longer.
Jane the Virgin, Jennie Snyder Urman, Creator (The CW)
Mr. Robot, Sam Esmail, Creator (USA Network)
Transparent, Jill Soloway, Creator (Amazon)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, Creators (Netflix)
UnREAL, Marti Noxon, Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, Creators (Lifetime)
*Additional nominee credits to be determined.
Breakthrough Series – Short Form*
A continuing or limited series new digital media programming comprised of 5 or more episodes with the majority under 20 minutes.
Bee and PuppyCat, Natasha Allegri, Creator (Cartoon Hangover)
The Impossibilities, Anna Kerrigan, Creator (seriesofimpossibilities.com)
Qraftish, Christal, Creator (Blackgirldangerous.org)
Shugs and Fats, Nadia Manzoor and Radhika Vaz, Creator (ShugsandFats.TV)
You’re So Talented, Sam Bailey, Creator (Open TV)
*Additional nominee credits to be determined.
Twelve writers, critics and programmers participated in the nomination process. The Nominating Committees for the 2015 IFP Gotham Breakthrough Series Awards were:
Nominating Committee for Breakthrough Series – Long Form:
Andy Greenwald, Staff Writer, Grantland
Tim Goodman, Chief TV Critic, The Hollywood Reporter
KC Ifeanyi, Assistant Editor/General Assignment Reporter, Fast Company
Matthew Gilbert, TV Critic, The Boston Globe
David Sims, Senior Associate Editor, Culture, The Atlantic
Liz Shannon Miller, TV Editor, Indiewire
Nominating Committee for Breakthrough Series – Short Form:
Randi Kleiner, Founder & CEO, SeriesFest
Micah Gottlieb, Blackbook
Jon Korn, Shorts Programmer, Sundance Film Festival
Rich Goldstein, Producer, The Daily Beast
Paula Mejia, Reporter & Culture Writer, Newsweek
Aymar Jean Christian, Founding Editor, Televisual
Sponsors
The Premier Sponsors of the 25th Anniversary IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards are Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and The New York Times, and the Platinum Sponsors are euphoria Calvin Klein and Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward Office of Film, Music and Entertainment. The Official Water Sponsor is FIJI Water and the Official Wine Partner is Line 39 by O’Neill. Additionally, the awards will be promoted nationally in an eight-page special advertising section in The New York Times in November 2015.
About IFP
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 Gotham Independent Film Awards and the Made in NY Media Center by IFP, a new incubator space developed with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. IFP represents a growing network of 10,000 storytellers around the world, and plays a key role in developing 350 new feature and documentary works each year. During its 36-year history, IFP has supported over 8,000 projects and offered resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers, including Debra Granik, Miranda July, Michael Moore, Dee Rees, and Benh Zeitlin. More info at www.ifp.org.
About the Gotham Independent Film Awards by IFP
The IFP Gotham Independent Film 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