“Inside Llewyn Davis” won Best Feature at the 23rd annual Gotham Independent Film Awards in New York on Monday. Joel and Ethan Coen’s latest film stars Oscar Isaac as a folk musician struggling to make a living in New York during the early 1960s.
The film drew rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival in May, and the win comes at a fortuitous time for distributor CBS Films as the movie opens in limited release this weekend.
Isaac has also drawn raves for his work, though Matthew McConaughey and Brie Larson won the top acting awards Monday night — McConaughey for his performance in “Dallas Buyers Cub” and Larson for her starring turn in “Short Term 12.”
Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave” had gone into the show with more nominations than any other film, but it did not win any awards.
“Fruitvale Station” took home the most awards of the night, two, with Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan winning breakthrough awards for directing and acting, respectively.
Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The Act of Killing” was named the year’s best documentary, while “Life on Four Strings,” a nonfiction film about ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro, scored a surprise victory in the Audience Award category over “12 Years a Slave,” “Fruitvale Station” and the docs “Best Kept Secret” and “Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey.”
The Gotham Awards typically stake out a distinctive turf and do not overlap much with other awards groups. The Gothams winner has only gone on to win the Oscar for Best Picture once, when Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” turned the trick four years ago.
Nick Kroll hosted the show, which was livestreamed online. Special awards were handed out to actor Forest Whitaker, director Richard Linklater and the late James Gandolfini.
Here is the full list of nominees, with winners in bold:
Best Feature
12 Years a Slave
Steve McQueen, director; Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, Steve McQueen, Arnon Milchan, Anthony Katagas, producers. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints
David Lowery, director; Tony Halbrooks, James M. Johnston, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Amy Kaufman, Cassian Elwes, producers (IFC Films)
Before Midnight
Richard Linklater, director; Richard Linklater, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Sara Woodhatch, producers (Sony Pictures Classics)
Inside Llewyn Davis
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, directors; Scott Rudin, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, producers (CBS Films)
Upstream Color
Shane Carruth, director; Shane Carruth, Casey Gooden, Ben LeClair, producers. (erbp)
Best Documentary
The Act of Killing *WINNER
Joshua Oppenheimer, director; Signe Byrge, Joshua Oppenheimer, producers (Drafthouse Films)
The Crash Reel
Lucy Walker, director; Julian Cautherly, Lucy Walker, producers (HBO Documentary Films)
First Cousin Once Removed
Alan Berliner, director and producer (HBO Documentary Films)
Let the Fire Burn
Jason Osder, director and producer (Zeitgeist Films)
Our Nixon
Penny Lane, director; Brian L. Frye, Penny Lane, producers (Cinedigm and CNN Films)
Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Ryan Coogler for Fruitvale Station (The Weinstein Company) *WINNER
Adam Leon for Gimme the Loot (Sundance Selects)
Alexandre Moors for Blue Caprice (Sundance Selects)
Stacie Passon for Concussion (RADiUS-TWC)
Amy Seimetz for Sun Don’t Shine (Factory 25)
Best Actor
Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Oscar Isaac in Inside Llewyn Davis (CBS Films)
Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features) *WINNER
Robert Redford in All Is Lost (Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions)
Isaiah Washington in Blue Caprice (Sundance Selects)
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine (Sony Pictures Classics)
Scarlett Johansson in Don Jon (Relativity Media)
Brie Larson in Short Term 12 (Cinedigm) *WINNER
Amy Seimetz in Upstream Color (erbp)
Shailene Woodley in The Spectacular Now (A24)
Breakthrough Actor
Dane DeHaan in Kill Your Darlings (Sony Pictures Classics)
Kathryn Hahn in Afternoon Delight (The Film Arcade and Cinedigm)
Michael B. Jordan in Fruitvale Station (The Weinstein Company) *WINNER
Lupita Nyong’o in 12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Robin Weigert in Concussion (RADiUS-TWC)
Spotlight on Women Filmmakers ‘Live the Dream’ Grant
Afia Nathaniel, director, Dukhthar
Gita Pullapilly, director, Beneath the Harvest Sky *WINNER
Deb Shoval, director, AWOL
Audience Award
Best Kept Secret
Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey
Fruitvale Station
12 Years a Slave
