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Marriage Story Wins Four Awards, Including Best Picture, at the 2019 IFP Gotham Awards; American Factory Wins Best Documentary
Noah Baumbach (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for IFP) Marriage Story writer/director Noah Baumbach seemed a bit flustered his second trip to the podium last night at the 2019 IFP Gotham Awards. Minutes earlier he had accepted the Best Screenplay Prize and, in prepared remarks, thanked his various collaborators as well as Ted Sarandos and Netflix — not just for financing his film but saving the Paris Theater too. But when Natasha Lyonne announced Marriage Story for the Audience Award, Baumbach perhaps began to realize that he hadn’t written enough speeches for the evening. “I hope you all remember what I said in the last speech because it’s still relevant,” he quipped. Baumbach would return to the stage twice more, winning Best Picture and, in a very funny (and clearly prepared) speech given with Little Women director and partner Greta Gerwig, introducing Gotham Tribute honoree Laura Dern. The latter saw Baumbach and Gerwig in matching Laura Dern sweaters and reading each others comments, with Baumbach talking about idolizing Dern as a youth and growing up into a lanky blonde actress and Gerwig recalling her days as a 16-year-old Brooklyn boy with a picture of Christie Brinkley in her wallet. As for Dern, she thanked the incredibly impressive list of directors she’s worked repeatedly with, as well as her parents, who, she said, conceived her on a Roger Corman set.
Baumbach would also receive a shout-out from Adam Driver, who won Best Actor for his work in the movie. (Driver’s award was presented by Jennifer Lopez, whose relaxed star power silenced the room’s low-level chatter.)
Marriage Story‘s four awards were part of a great evening for Netflix, which was also behind Best Documentary winner American Factory and Breakthrough Series, Over 40 Minutes winner Whey They See Us. The latter is Ava DuVernay’s limited series about the Central Park Five case, just one of a collection of works that garnered DuVernay a Gotham Tribute last night. In her speech, she recalled first-time director advice she gave to Jinn director Nijla Mumin, which included remembering the message you want your film to convey every day on the way to set, to treat all crew with respect, to change your socks at lunch (you’ll feel like a new person in the afternoon, she said), and to continually “hydrate and moisturize.”
Other notable awards included writer/director Laure de Clermont-Tonnere, who scored the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director award for her flinty, sagacious prison drama, The Mustang, and Awkwafina, who won Best Actress for The Farewell. “I’ve never won anything, not even an argument in Instagram comments,” she joked. Filmmaker Jason DaSilva received the Made in New York Media Award, telling the audience the story of being diagnosed with MS at 25 and then embarking on his journey as a filmmaker and an activist.
The complete list of winners is below.
For Best Feature, presented by Uma Thurman
Marriage Story
Directed by Noah Baumbach
Produced by Noah Baumbach and David Heyman
Released by Netflix
The Best Feature jury included Scott Cooper, Rachel Morrison, Josh Penn, Uma Thurman, and Aisha Tyler.
For Best Documentary, presented by Constance Wu
American Factory
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
Produced by Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert, Jeff Reichert, and Julie Parker Benello
Released by Netflix
The Best Documentary jury included Susan Bedusa, Marshall Curry, Barbara Kopple, RaMell Ross, and Sandi Tan.
For the IFP Gotham Audience Award, presented by Natasha Lyonne
Marriage Story
Directed by Noah Baumbach
Produced by Noah Baumbach and David Heyman
Released by Netflix
The Audience Award was voted for on-line by IFP members.
For Best Actor, presented by Jennifer Lopez
Adam Driver in Marriage Story
Released by Netflix
The Best Actor jury included Daveed Diggs, Melanie Lynskey, Douglas McGrath, John Penotti, and Joel Schumacher.
For Best Actress, presented by Daveed Diggs
Awkwafina in The Farewell
Released by A24
The Best Actress jury included Wendy Finerman, Elizabeth Karlsen, Christopher Meloni, Yen Tan, and Debra Winger
For Best Screenplay, presented by Tracy Letts
Noah Baumbach for Marriage Story
Released by Netflix
The Best Screenplay jury included Lisa Cortés, Tracey Edmonds, Peter Hedges, Bill Holderman, and Susanna Styron
For Breakthrough Actor, presented by Jeremy O. Harris
Taylor Russell in Waves
Released by A24
The Breakthrough Actor jury included Mollye Asher, Chadwick Boseman, Annette Davey, Evan Hayes, and Crystal Moselle.
For Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director, presented by Willem Dafoe
Laure De Clermont-Tonnerre for The Mustang
Released by Focus Features
The Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director jury included Haifaa Al-Mansour, Scott Franklin, Regina Hall, Riva Marker, and Alexandre Moors.
For Breakthrough Series – Long Format, presented by Beanie Feldstein and Elisabeth Moss
When They See Us
Created by Ava DuVernay; Executive Produced by Jeff Skoll, Jonathan King, Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro, Berry Welsh, Oprah Winfrey, and Ava DuVernay
Netflix
The Breakthrough Series – Long Format jury included Emily V Gordon, Steven Katz, Jayme Lemons, Adrian Lester, and Vera Miao.
For Breakthrough Series – Short Format, presented by Beanie Feldstein and Elisabeth Moss
PEN15
Created by Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, and Sam Zvibleman
Executive Produced by Anna Konkle, Sam Zvibleman, Debbie Liebling, Gabe Liedman, Marc Provissiero, Brooke Pobjoy, Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer, Becky Sloviter, Shelley Zimmerman, Brin Lukens, and Jordan Levin
Hulu
The Breakthrough Series – Short Format jury included Ryan Cunningham, Cory Finley, Paul Sparks, Julia Stiles, and Vanessa Williams.
