Professional Motion Picture Production and Distribution NEWS

In years past, the excitement would be over. But this year, it��s just heating up. IFP/New York recently announced the first two honorees of its expanded Gotham Awards. Having moved the date from mid-September to Wednesday, December 1st, the Gothams have broadened their attention to underscore New York��s ability to act as a creative breeding ground for not only U.S. productions, but the international film scene as well. This year��s awards gala will increase from six awards exclusively focused on the New York community to nine, embracing talent from across the U.S. and internationally.

Moving the Gotham Awards to the cusp of the awards season will also give this gala a bit more relevance without getting lost in the frenzy of the months to come. ��New York is physically and culturally a bridge between the film industries in Los Angeles, Europe, and the rest of the world,�� says IFP/New York Executive Director Michelle Byrd. ��With that as our reference, we look forward to celebrating a roster of talented individuals whose impact on our culture has certainly been felt in our hometown of New York City, as well as throughout the world.��

Don Cheadle will receive the Gotham Actor Award, following in the footsteps of such acting heavyweights as Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, Susan Sarandon, John Turturro, and Sigourney Weaver. Cheadle��s breakout role was in Devil in a Blue Dress with Denzel Washington, which earned him a Best Supporting Actor nod by the Los Angeles Film Critics. He has become both a critical and crowd-pleasing favorite in such films as Ocean��s Eleven, Traffic, Boogie Nights, and Out of Sight. Cheadle has a slate of films opening in the coming months including Terry George��s highly acclaimed Hotel Rwanda (United Artists, opens December 22nd), Paul Haggis��s Crash alongside Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, and Thandie Newton (Lions Gate, opens in April 2005), and Steven Soderbergh��s Oceans Twelve (Warner Bros. Pictures, opens December 10th). Cheadle can also be seen in a cameo in Niels Mueller��s The Assassination of Richard Nixon (ThinkFilm, opens December 29th).

The first-ever Celebrate New York tribute was created to acknowledge a film that was shot in New York and expands the boundaries of creative expression. The tribute this year will be awarded to the critically and commercially successful Focus Features release Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, directed by Michel Gondry, written by Charlie Kaufman, and starring Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, and Tom Wilkinson. The producers of the film were New York-based Anthony Bregman (of This is that) and Los Angeles-based Steve Golin (of Anonymous Content). Attending the Gothams as part of the tribute will be the film��s director, writer, producers, and actors.

��For many New York production companies, making a film in New York is not always the slam dunk you might imagine,�� says Byrd. ��If IFP/New York can lend its voice to those calling for increased support and promotion of the companies and films being made in our hometown, and if those films can be as truly expressive and imaginative as this Michel Gondry-Charlie Kaufman collaboration, then we will annually find a reason to ��Celebrate New York�� as part of the Gothams toward the close of each year.�� Focus Features co-presidents David Linde and James Schamus add, "This special recognition of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind reflects just how deeply this film has resonated, and continues to resonate, with people ever since its release early this year. Many people came together in New York to make this movie, so this honor from the filmmaking community inspires particular pride."

The Gotham Awards have many objectives�Xto serve as IFP/New York's major annual fundraiser, helping make possible our resource and support programs for independent filmmakers, to emphasize New York's role in the U.S. and international film community, and to recognize deserving talent.
We hope you support them as part of our community. Check www.ifp.org for our remaining Gotham Awards announcements.