Awards Watch: Gotham Independent Film Awards

1 December 2008

Ballast

Tomorrow night sees the awards season official get underway with the 18th Gotham Independent Film Awards, which supports independent filmmaking.

Lance Hammer's Ballast leads the nominations with four nods, including Best Feature, Best Ensemble Cast, Best Breakthrough Director and Best Breakthrough Actor.

Ballast was a critically applauded movie that focuses on life and death on the Mississippi delta and is the breakthrough performance for actor Michael J. Smith Sr.

But in the Best Feature Ballast face serious competition as it's the hardest fought category as it comes up against Frozen River, Synecdoche New York, which stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Visitor and The Wrestler, which is expected to feature strongly over the next couple of months.

The Wrestler, which is set to revive Mickey Rourke's career, follows a retired wrestler who prepares to step into the ring for a final time, despite the fight possibly killing him. Synecdoche New York bring together an impressive cast with Philip Seymour Hoffman as director Caden Cotard who, while trying to direct a play about New York, his world around him comes crashing down.

Frozen River follows two women who are find themselves border smuggling as they face desperate circumstances while in The Visitor Walter Vale finds a new lease of life and tries to protect two illegal immigrants from deportation.

Ensemble cast highlights the talent that's present in Ballast, Synecdoche New York, Rachel Getting Married, which sees Anne Hathaway lead the cast that could see her secure an Oscar nomination, The Visitor and Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Full List of nominees

Best Feature

Ballast -Lance Hammer, director; Lance Hammer, Nina Parikh, producers (Alluvial Film Company)

Frozen River - Courtney Hunt, director; Heather Rae, Chip Hourihan, producers (Sony Pictures Classics)

Synecdoche, New York - Charlie Kaufman, director; Anthony Bregman, Charlie Kaufman, Spike Jonze, Sidney Kimmel, producers (Sony Pictures Classics)

The Visitor - Tom McCarthy, director; Mary Jane Skalski, Michael London, producers (Overture Films)

The Wrestler - Darren Aronofsky, director; Scott Franklin, Darren Aronofsky, producers (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Best Documentary

Chris & Don: A Love Story - Guido Santi & Tina Mascara, directors; Julia Scott, Tina Mascara, Guido Santi, James White, producers (Zeitgeist Films)

Encounters at the End of the World - Werner Herzog, director; Henry Kaiser, producer (THINKFilm / Image Entertainment)

Man on Wire - James Marsh, director; Simon Chinn, producer (Magnolia Pictures)

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired - Marina Zenovich, director; Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Lila Yacoub, Marina Zenovich, producers (THINKFilm in association with HBO Documentaries)

Trouble the Water - Tia Lessin & Carl Deal, producers/directors (Zeitgeist Films)

Best Ensemble Performance

Ballast - Micheal J. Smith, Sr., JimMyron Ross, Tarra Riggs, Johnny McPhail (Alluvial Film Company)

Rachel Getting Married - Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin, Tunde Adebimpe, Mather Zickel, Anna Deavere Smith, Anisa George, Debra Winger (Sony Pictures Classics)

Synecdoche, New York - Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hope Davis, Tom Noonan (Sony Pictures Classics)

Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz (The Weinstein Company)

The Visitor - Richard Jenkins, Hiam Abbas, Haaz Sleiman, Danai Gurira (Overture Films)