Awards Watch: Frozen River Triumphs at Gothams

03 December 2008

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At last night's 18th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards it was Frozen River that beat off stiff competition to scoop the top prize of Best Feature.

Despite Lance Hammer's Ballast leading the way with four nominations it only managed to walk away with one award for best breakthrough Director.

Frozen River was a surprise winner as it beat off competition from Ballast, Synecdoche, New York, The Visitor and The Wrestler, which was perhaps the favourite. The film also went on to scoop the Best breakthrough Actor for Melissa Leo.

The film follows Ray Eddy whose husband has left her in an impossible situation not only is he gone, but he has gambled away all of the family’s meager savings.

Ray’s single wage at the Yankee One Dollar Store can’t make the house payment, and the situation forces Ray to feed her two sons popcorn and Tang everyday. When Ray strikes out to search for her husband, she encounters Lila Littlewolf, a tough, street-smart Mohawk woman who is dealing with her own struggle to make ends meet.

But Lila has found a way to do it smuggling illegal immigrants into the States. The tribal elders disapprove and attempt to stop Lila by forbidding anyone to sell her a car. Ray has a car, and although the two women don’t trust each other, they team up and share Ray’s Dodge Spirit to make a run across the frozen St. Lawrence River.

Frozen River also find itself nominated for Motion Picture, Drama at the Satellite Awards, which are announced later this month, and this win has seen it's chances significantly increase but it comes up against some more heavyweight opposition.

Trouble the Water, which about how Hurricane Katrina managed to revolutionize American attitudes about the environment, but somehow the very people most devastated by the storm have become refugees in their own country, and their experiences have been all but forgotten, went on to win Best Documentary.

Winners

Best Feature: "Frozen River"

Best Documentary: "Trouble the Water"

Best Ensemble Performance (Tied): "Synecdoche, New York" - Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hope Davis and Tom Noonan

"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" - Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz

Breakthrough Director: Lance Hammer, "Ballast"

Breakthrough Actor: Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"

Best Film Not Playing at a Theatre Near You: "Sita Sings the Blues"

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw

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