Manchester by the Sea gets early award buzz
Kenneth Lonergan’s acclaimed drama Manchester by the Sea was the leader Thursday morning in the 26th annual Gotham Awards nominations.
The film earned four mentions, for feature, screenplay, actor ( Casey Affleck) and breakthrough actor ( Lucas Hedges).
Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women, Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson and Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some!! rounded out the nominees in the feature category.
In the actor category, Affleck is joined by Jeff Bridges, Adam Driver, Joel Edgerton and Craig Robinson.
Meanwhile, Kate Beckinsale, Annette Bening, Isabelle Huppert, Ruth Negga and Natalie Portman were nominated for the trophy in the actress category.
Moonlight also picked up a special jury award for its ensemble cast, which includes Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris and Alex Hibbert.
The documentary category included nominees Cameraperson, I Am Not Your Negro, O.J.: Made in America, Tower and Weiner. The Gothams also highlight achievements in television and short-form content, this year nominating such TV series as Jessica Jones, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Master of None, The Girlfriend Experience and Horace and Pete, created by Louis C.K.
As an arm of the Independent Feature Project, the Gothams honour independent releases and can help raise the profile of smaller films entering the awards season.
The previous two feature winners — Spotlight last year and Birdman in 2014 — went on to earn the Academy Award for best picture.
For Manchester, which has been building significant buzz since it premiered at Cannes, the Gotham Award nominations are likely just the beginning.
The Gotham Awards will be presented on Nov. 28 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. The Los Angeles Times