Gotham Awards

The Gotham Awards are American film awards, presented annually to the makers of independent films at a ceremony in New York City, the city first nicknamed "Gotham" by native son Washington Irving, in an issue of Salmagundi, published on November 11, 1807. Part of the Gotham Film & Media Institute (formerly Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP)), "the largest membership organization in the United States dedicated to independent film" (founded in 1979), the awards were inaugurated in 1991 as a means of showcasing and honoring films made primarily in the northeastern region of the United States.

Scope
In 2004, the scope of the awards broadened to include the international film scene, when the number of awards presented increased from six awards – given to films and those involved in making them primarily from the northeastern U.S. film community –  to nine awards, including in its broader scope films originating in Los Angeles, California, and international locations as well.

Venue
Having outgrown its previous locations in the city's Manhattan borough, for the first time in its history, the 17th Annual Gotham Awards gala occurred outside of that borough, in the city's Brooklyn borough at Steiner Studios, in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, on November 27, 2007, and it was "promoted nationally via a partnership with The New York Times and locally via broadcast on WNYE".

Current categories

 * Tribute Award: since 1991
 * Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award: since 1991 (until 2002 as Open Palm Award; from 2003 to 2012 as Breakthrough Director Award)
 * Breakthrough Performer: since 1998 (until 2020 as Award for Breakthrough Actor; not awarded in 2023)
 * Best Feature: since 2004
 * Best Documentary: since 2004
 * Spotlight on Women Filmmakers "Live the Dream" Grant: since 2011
 * Best Screenplay: since 2015
 * Appreciation Award: since 2015
 * Made in NY Award: since 2016
 * Best International Feature: since 2020
 * Outstanding Lead Performance: since 2021
 * Outstanding Supporting Performance: since 2021
 * Best Director: since 2024

From 1991 to 2002, the Tribute Award, also called Career Tribute, was awarded as a Lifetime Achievement Award to one person each year and the individual achievement awards (Filmmaker Award, Writer Award, Actor Award, Below-the-Line Award, Producer/Industry Executive Award and Independent Vision Award) were given out separately. As of the 2003 Gotham Awards, the IFP replaced all mentioned individual category awards with Career Tributes.

Discontinued categories
• Filmmaker Award: 1991 to 1997

• Below-the-Line Award: 1991 to 1998

• Writer Award: 1991 to 1998

• Producer/Industry Executive Award: 1991 to 1999

• Actor Award: 1991 to 2002

• Classical Film Tribute: 1999 to 2000

• Anthony Radziwell Documentary Achievement Award: 2000 to 2002

• Independent Vision Award: only 2001

• Celebrate New York Award: 2004 to 2005

• Best Ensemble Cast: 2005 to 2012 (2008 to 2012 as Best Ensemble Performance)

• Best Film Not Playing At Theater Near You: 2005 to 2012

• Special Jury Award for Ensemble Performance: 2014 to 2018

• Best Actor: 2013 to 2020

• Best Actress: 2013 to 2020

• Audience Award (Film): 2010 to 2020

• Breakthrough Series – Long Form: 2015 to 2023

• Breakthrough Series – Short Form: 2015 to 2023

• Outstanding Performance in a New Series: 2021 to 2023

• Breakthrough Nonfiction Series: 2021 to 2022 (reintroduced in 2024 as part of the Gotham TV Awards, see below)

Gotham TV Awards
In April 2024, the Gotham Film & Media Institute announced that television series and performances will be honored at a separate ceremony going forward with the first edition of the Gotham TV Awards taking place on June 4, 2024. In previous years, television categories had been part of the main awards ceremony, where two television awards for new series were presented for the first time in 2015. In 2021, two further awards, one for performance and one for non-fiction television, were introduced. Out of the eight categories to be presented at the inaugural Gotham TV Awards only the award for Breakthrough Nonfiction Series had been given out before (in 2021 and 2022); the three other awards for series, the three awards for outstanding performances and the audience award for television were newly created.

Current categories

 * Breakthrough Comedy Series: since 2024
 * Breakthrough Drama Series: since 2024
 * Breakthrough Limited Series: since 2024
 * Breakthrough Nonfiction Series: since 2021 (part of the main awards ceremony from 2021 to 2022; not awarded in 2023)
 * Outstanding Performance in a Comedy Series: since 2024
 * Outstanding Performance in a Drama Series: since 2024
 * Outstanding Performance in a Limited Series: since 2024
 * Audience Award (TV): since 2024