“Past Lives” won best feature film at the Gotham Awards in New York City on Monday at the Cipriani Wall Street, while Lily Gladstone and Charles Melton took home the night’s top acting honors.
“It’s a great honor,” Celine Song, writer and director of “Past Lives,” said in her acceptance speech, according to Variety. “Thank you so much, Gotham, for this award.” “It truly means the world to me to receive it with my debut set in New York City, a city I live in and love very much.”
Song – who was joined on stage by Greta Lee and John Magaro – thanked her staff at A24 as well as the film’s cast and crew.
Gladstone won the award for Outstanding Lead Performance in The Unknown Country, while Melton won for Outstanding Supporting Performance in May/December.
A Thousand and One director AV Rockwell won the Breakthrough Director Award.
The Latest: Past Lives won best feature film at the Gotham Awards in New York City at Cipriani Wall Street on Monday, as 35-year-old director Celine Song held a trophy at the event
Song said in her acceptance speech, “Thank you, Gotham, for this award. It truly means the world to receive it with my debut set in New York City, a city I live in and love very much.”
Anatomy of a Fall took home the awards for Best International Feature Film and Best Screenplay, while Four Daughters won the awards for Best Documentary.
The Netflix series Beef won two awards for Breakthrough Series – Under 40 Minutes; and Outstanding Performance in a New Series for Ali Wong.
A Small Light won the award for “Breakthrough Series – Over 40 Minutes.”
All of Us Strangers, directed by Andrew Haigh, received the most nominations with four nominations, but did not win any awards; Past Lives and A Thousand and One each had three.
A number of other films were honored with standalone awards Monday night in New York City, including Barbie, which won the Global Icon & Creator Tribute; Ferrari, which took home the Icon & Creator Tribute for Innovation; and Air, which received the Visionary Icon & Creator Tribute.
Air writer Alex Convery said, according to The Hollywood Reporter, “The film is really about knowing your worth and fighting for it, and we learned that firsthand as artists while working on the 200 Days this summer Walked along picket lines.”
“It was long and tiring, but we did it and showed the world that we know what we are worth.”
Other honorees included Maestro, which won the Cultural Icon & Creator Tribute; Rustin, who received the Cultural Icon & Creator Tribute for Social Justice; and Killers of the Flower Moon, which won the Gotham Historical Icon & Creator Tribute.
Lily Gladstone won the award for her outstanding leading role in “The Unknown Country.”
She was pictured with her Killers of the Flower Moon co-star Leonardo DiCaprio
DiCaprio and Robert De Niro were pictured alongside Gladstone as their film Killers of the Flower Moon was honored
Actor Charles Melton won the Outstanding Supporting Actor award in May/December
The actor played the role of Joe Yoo in the dramatic comedy directed by Todd Haynes
Beef actress Ali Wong spoke as she accepted the award for Outstanding Performance in a New Series
The Netflix series starring Wong also won the award for “Breakthrough Series – Under 40 Minutes.”
A Thousand and One director AV Rockwell posed with the Breakthrough Director Award
Rockwell was at the podium when she won the award for her NYC-set crime drama
Beef creator Lee Sung Jin was pictured on stage as the show won an award for Breakthrough Series – Under 40 Minutes
“Killers of the Flower Moon” actor Robert De Niro took the podium to honor the film. In a speech that made headlines after De Niro claimed organizers tried to “edit” her, the veteran actor took a sharp swipe at former President Donald Trump.
“Truth is not the same as truth and facts are being replaced by conspiracy theories,” De Niro said. “Lying has become a tool in the charlatan’s arsenal.” The former president lied to us more than 30,000 times in his four years, and he continues his campaign of retaliation. Despite all his lies, he cannot hide his soul.’
“He attacks the weak, destroys nature’s gifts and shows disrespect, for example by using Pocahontas as a curse word.”
Ferrari star Adam Driver presented the award to the film’s director Michael Mann, recalling how the filmmaker once ran across a busy Los Angeles intersection to retrieve his wallet, which he had left behind at a 7-Eleven store had.
“It was actually a moment where I felt like I had really seen Michael – if he’s doing that with the lost time in his wallet, how does that translate to a film set?” Driver said.
He added that Mann “doesn’t want anything to get in the way of his mission, including himself.”
Mann said the honor was dedicated to his Ferrari screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin, who died in 2009: “He is truly the heart and core of innovation.”
Rustin director George C. Wolfe was presented with film awards for the Netflix film by Colman Domingo, the film’s director, and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Rustin director George C. Wolfe (r.) was presented with film awards for the Netflix film by Colman Domingo and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
Adam Driver introduced Ferrari director Michael Mann as the film won the Icon & Creator Tribute for Innovation
Maestro director and star Bradley Cooper praised late composer Leonard Bernstein’s adult children, Jamie, Alex and Nina Bernstein, for helping him tell the composer’s story as “authentically and truthfully” as possible
Barbie director Greta Gerwig and actress Margot Robbie were pictured on stage after the summer blockbuster won the Global Icon & Creator Tribute
“Killers of the Flower Moon” actor Robert De Niro took the podium to honor the film
(LR) Laura Dern, Noah Baumbach, Gerwig, Robbie and Tom Ackerley posed together at the ceremony
“Democracy is a muscle, and if you don’t use it, it atrophies and becomes dysfunctional,” Wolfe said in his acceptance speech. “We understand that we must invest in democracy every day, otherwise mediocrity and evil will result.”
Maestro director and lead actor Bradley Cooper was presented by Brian Williams, who called the film Cooper’s “American masterpiece.”
Cooper praised the late composer Leonard Bernstein’s adult children, Jamie, Alex and Nina Bernstein, for helping him tell the composer’s story as “authentically and truthfully” as possible.
According to Variety, organizers at the Gotham Film and Media Institute have changed the entry criteria for the annual awards show, which is usually geared toward honoring independent films.
A budget cap of $35 million was lifted for potential participants and award winners. Two years ago, the Big Apple-based awards show removed gender-classified categories.
THE WINNERS OF THE 2023 Gotham Awards: AT A GLANCE
Best Feature: Past Lives; Director Celine Song, producers David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler and Christine Vachon
Outstanding Lead Role: Lily Gladstone, The Unknown Country
Outstanding Supporting Actor: Charles Melton, May December
Outstanding Performance in a New Series: Ali Wong, Beef
Breakthrough Director Award: AV Rockwell, A Thousand and One
Breakthrough Series – Over 40 Minutes: A Little Light; creators Tony Phelan and Joan Rater; Executive Producers: Susanna Fogel, William Harper, Avi Nir, Tony Phelan, Joan Rater, Lisa Roos, Alon Shtruzman and Peter Traugott
Breakthrough Series – Under 40 Minutes: Beef; creator Lee Sung Jin; Executive Producers: Ravi Nandan, Alli Reich, Jake Schreier, Ali Wong and Steven Yeun
Best Documentary: Four Daughters; Director Kaouther Ben Hania, producer Nadim Cheikhrouha
Best International Feature Film: Anatomy of a Fall; Director Justine Triet, producers Marie-Ange Luciani and David Thion
Best Screenplay: Anatomy of a Fall; Screenwriters Justine Triet and Arthur Harari