Gotham Awards Adds Best Director & Breakthrough Performer Categories

The Gotham Film & Media Institute has announced that submissions are now open for the 34th Annual Gotham Awards which are taking place in New York on Monday, December 2, 2024. The deadline for submissions is Thursday, September 19th, 2024 for the following nine competition categories:

– Best Feature
– Best Documentary Feature
– Best International Feature
– Best Director
– Breakthrough Director
– Best Screenplay
– Outstanding Lead Performance
– Outstanding Supporting Performance
– Breakthrough Performer

The new Best Director recognition will recognize a director who pushes the boundaries of creativity and demonstrates a unique vision. In order to be eligible for consideration, feature films must be scheduled for a theatrical release in 2024. The planned release, which can be through a theatrical releasing entity or by direct or self-distribution by the filmmakers, must run for a minimum of seven consecutive days.

The Gotham Awards will also bring back the Breakthrough Performer award, which celebrates an outstanding debut or “breakthrough” performance in an eligible feature film (U.S. or international). The performance is not necessarily the performer’s first screen role but is considered the first lead or strong supporting role to display the expanse of their talent or suggest significant future accomplishment.

“We’re thrilled to expand our recognition of exceptional talent this year,” said Jeffrey Sharp, Executive Director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute. “For the first time, we are introducing the Gotham Award for Best Director, honoring a filmmaker whose fiction film, whether U.S. or international, pushes the boundaries of creativity and demonstrates a unique vision. This new award complements our longstanding Breakthrough Director Award for first-time directing talent. We are also bringing back our popular Breakthrough Performer category. These exciting additions reflect our passion for celebrating the year’s most extraordinary films and the visionary talents behind them, from emerging artists to established innovators.”

Submissions applications, along with full criteria, are available at awards.thegotham.org/criteria/. Nominees will be announced on Tuesday, October 29th, 2024, and winners will be honored at the awards ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street on Monday, December 2, 2024. Moving forward, all television award categories will be presented at the 2025 Gotham TV Awards, which will be held in New York on Monday, June 2, 2025.

During the 33rd Annual Gotham Awards, which were held on November 27, 2023, Celine Song’s nuanced and poignant drama Past Lives took home Best Feature, Justine Triet’s gripping Anatomy of a Fall earned wins for Best International Feature and Best Screenplay (co-written with Justine Triet by Arthur Harari), Lily Gladstone won Outstanding Lead Performance for her poetic performance in The Unknown Country, and Charles Melton scored the Gotham Award for Outstanding Supporting Performance for his unexpected turn in May December.

The Premier Sponsor of the 2024 Gotham Awards is Vanity Fair.

Submit Here: https://awards.thegotham.org/criteria/

About the Gotham Awards
The Gotham Awards, one of the leading honors for independent film and television, provides early acknowledgement to groundbreaking independent films and television series. Selected by distinguished juries and presented in New York City, the home of independent film, the Gotham Awards 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 The Gotham Film & Media Institute does behind the scenes throughout the year to bring such films to fruition.

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