Top Awards go to MOONRISE KINGDOM and HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE as Best Feature and Best Documentary

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD Director Benh Zeitlin Receives Two Awards

http://gotham.ifp.org

New York, NY (November 26, 2012) – The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the nation’s oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers, announced the winners of the 22nd Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards at the awards ceremony held at the Cipriani Wall Street, in New York City.

Presented by IFP, the Gotham Independent Film Awards™ is one of the leading awards for independent film and the first major honors of the film awards season. The ceremony was streamed live to a global audience at www.ifp.org.

Winners were chosen from a total of 30films that received nominations in seven competitive categories: Best Feature, Best Documentary, Best Ensemble Performance, Breakthrough Actor, Breakthrough Director, Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You® and the Audience Award, powered by Festival Genius. In addition to the competitive awards, career tributes were given during the ceremony to actors Matt Damon and Marion Cotillard, director David O. Russell and philanthropist Jeff Skoll of Participant Media.

For the third year, IFP will honored the recipient of the Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You award with a theatrical release package including a one-week run at Cinema Village in New York City, advertising support in the New York Times, and a cash award of $15,000 from The Royal Bank of Canada.

For the second consecutive year, IFP presented the euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Filmmakers ‘Live the Dream’ grant, a $25,000 cash award for an alumna of IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs. This grant aims to further the careers of emerging women directors by supporting the completion, distribution and audience engagement strategies of their first feature film.

New to the Gotham Awards this year is the Bingham Ray Award, an award bestowed upon an emerging filmmaker whose work exemplifies a distinctive creative vision and stylistic adventurousness that stands apart from the mainstream and warrants championing. The goal is to bring additional attention to new artists whose work could be seen as conceivably joining the ranks of filmmakers championed by industry veteran Bingham Ray, who passed away in January.

With the award comes a camera package from Panavision valued at $60,000 and a cash prize of $10,000.

The 22nd Annual Gotham Independent Film Award™ Recipients are:

For Best Feature, presented by Willem Dafoe:

MOONRISE KINGDOM

Directed by Wes Anderson

Produced by Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson

Released by Focus Features

The Best Feature jury included: Willem Dafoe, Lydia Dean Pilcher, Jesse Peretz, Jay Rabinowitz and Meg Ryan

For Best Documentary, presented by producer Ira Glass and documentarian Marshall Curry:

HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE

Directed and produced by David France

Produced by Howard Gertler

Released by IFC Films

The Best Documentary jury included: Marshall Curry, Rob Epstein, Laura Poitras, Lori Silverbush and Jean Tsien

For Best Ensemble Performance (awardsponsored by euphoria Calvin Klein), presented by actors Ethan Hawke and Juliet Rylance:

Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt and Mark Duplass in YOUR SISTER’S SISTER

Released by IFC Films

The Best Ensemble Performance jury included: Sacha Gervasi, David Gordon Green, George Tillman, Christine Vachon and Shailene Woodley

For Breakthrough Actor, presented by actors Jack Black and Emily Blunt:

EMAYATZY CORINEALDI in MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

Released by AFFRM and Participant Media

The Breakthrough Actor Jury included: JC Chandor, Neil LaBute, Emily Mortimer and Juliet Rylance

For Breakthrough Director, presented by Mark Standish, CEO of The Royal Bank of Canada (the presenting sponsor of the award) and director JC Chandor:

BENH ZEITLIN for BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

Released by Fox Searchlight Pictures

The Breakthrough Director Jury included: Oscar Isaac, Oren Moverman, Ruba Nadda, John Slattery and Susan Stover

For Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You™,presented by actors Mark Duplass and Rosemarie DeWitt:

AN OVERSIMPLIFICATION OF HER BEAUTY

Directed and produced by Terence Nance

Produced by Andrew Corkin and James Bartlett

The recipient of The Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You™ award was determined by the editors of Filmmaker magazine, a publication of IFP, and a curator from The Museum of Modern Art.

For the Gotham Independent Film Audience Award powered by Festival Genius, presented by actorsAlex Karpovsky and Melanie Lynskey:

ARTIFACT

Directed by Bartholomew Cubbins

Produced by Jared Leto and Emma Ludbrook

The Audience Award was voted for on-line by filmgoers worldwide.

For the euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Filmmakers ‘Live the Dream’ Grant, presented by actor/director Famke Janssen and actor Mickey Sumner:

STACIE PASSONfor the upcoming film, CONCUSSION

The euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Filmmakers’ ‘Live the Dream’ grant jury included:Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Debra Granik, Mary Jane Skalski and Mickey Sumner.

For The Bingham Ray Award, presented by actor and friend of Bingham Ray, Oliver Platt:

BENH ZEITLIN, director of BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

The recipient of this award was chosen by a close group of Bingham’s friends and colleagues.

The Premier Sponsors of the 22nd annual Gotham Independent Film Awards^™ are Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and The New York Times, Presenting Sponsor euphoria Calvin Klein, Official Water: FIJI Water, Official Spirit: Russian Standard Vodka, Official Wine Partner: Mionetto Prosecco, Official Partners: charitybuzz; MoMA; Andaz Wall Street.

About Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) is one of the nation’s oldest and largest not-for-profit advocacy organizations for independent filmmakers. Since its debut at the 1979 New York Film Festival, IFP has supported the production of over 7,000 films and offered resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers, providing an opportunity for many diverse voices to be heard. IFP believes that independent films enrich the universal language of cinema, seeding the global culture with new ideas, kindling awareness, and fostering activism. The organization has championed early work by pioneering, independent filmmakers, including Charles Burnett, Edward Burns, Jim Jarmusch, Barbara Kopple, Michael Moore, Mira Nair and Kevin Smith.

IFP represents a network of 10,000 filmmakers in New York City and around the world. Through its workshops, seminars, conferences, mentorships and Filmmaker Magazine, IFP schools its members in the art, technology and business of independent filmmaking. The year-round program includes an Independent Film Week, The Gotham Awards, Filmmaking Labs and Seminars, and a range of programs to promote racial, ethnic, religious, ideological, gender and sexual diversity. IFP, often in collaboration with other cultural institutions, builds audiences by hosting premieres and special screenings.

For more information: www.ifp.org

About the Gotham Independent Film Awards™

The 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.