New York, NY (September 22, 2016) – The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the nation’s premier member organization of independent filmmakers and storytellers, announced today that Founder and Chairman of New Regency, Producer Arnon Milchan will receive the Industry Tribute at the 2016 IFP Gotham Awards. The first awards show of the season, the Gotham Awards is one of the leading honors for independent film and media, providing critical early recognition to worthy independent films and their writers, directors, producers, and actors with ten competitive awards categories, as well as honoring film community icons with Actor, Actress, Director, and Industry Tributes. Milchan will join previously announced tribute honorees Amy Adams, Ethan Hawke, and Oliver Stone for the ceremony on November 28, 2016, in New York City.

“Arnon Milchan exemplifies the passion, drive, and innovative thinking essential to independent film,” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director of IFP and the Made in NY Media Center. “We can think of few others who have so consistently supported the best in auteur-driven filmmaking, working with such talent as Oliver Stone, David Fincher, and Alejandro G. Iñárritu. We’re thrilled to be presenting him with this year’s Industry Tribute at the Gotham Awards.”

The Industry Tribute is awarded each year to an individual whose unique vision and contributions have made a significant impact on the motion picture industry. Over more than thirty years, Arnon Milchan has proven himself to be such an individual, shaping the landscape of independent film both as a producer with well over 100 film credits to his name, and as founder of New Regency, one of the most respected production companies in the industry.

Milchan’s early career in film included producing such beloved and now classic films as Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America, and Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy. Following the huge box office success of Pretty Woman, which he produced, Milchan founded New Regency Productions. In the years since, the company has gone on to produce a remarkable catalogue of award-winning films, including J.F.K., Fight Club, L.A. Confidential, for which Milchan received his first Academy Award®-nomination, and recently Gone Girl, and The Big Short, among many others.

Throughout his diverse career, Milchan has maintained an eye for the best in cinema, and served as producer on Best Picture Academy Award®-winners two years in a row, with 2013’s 12 Years a Slave and 2014’s Birdman. He again received an Academy Award®-nomination the following year for The Revenant, for which he also took home several awards, including a BAFTA Film Award. Milchan received a Gotham Award Best Feature nomination in 2013 as a producer of 12 Years a Slave, and won the Gotham Award for Best Feature in 2014 for Birdman.

This year will see the release of his collaboration with director Warren Beatty, Rules Don’t Apply, which 20th Century Fox will release in theaters on November 23rd. Additionally, the much anticipated Assassin’s Creed with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard releasing this Christmas, as well as Gore Verbinski’s A Cure For Wellness in February 2017 are on New Regency’s slate.

This year’s honorees will join a distinguished group of previous honorees, including 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 innovators and icons in documentary and feature film directing, producing, cinematography, and acting to bestow the Gotham’s competitive awards. The ten competitive Gotham Awards for 2016 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 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 2016 Gotham Awards is The New York Times, and the Platinum Sponsors are euphoria Calvin Klein and Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Office of Film, Music and Entertainment.

Nominees will be announced on October 20th and winners will be honored at the star-studded ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street on November 28th. The event will be streamed live on our website. 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.

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 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 37-year history, IFP has supported over 10,000+ 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 Gotham Independent Film Awards by IFP, 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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