Ethan Hawke’s ‘First Reformed’ Leads Gotham Awards Nominations

“First Reformed,” a drama about a priest who questions his faith played by Ethan Hawke, scored the most nominations for the 2018 Gotham Awards, the annual ceremony in New York honoring independent film.

The movie, written and directed by Paul Schrader, landed in three categories: best feature, best actor (for Hawke) and best screenplay.

“The Favourite,” Fox Searchlight’s comedy set in the 18th century court of Queen Anne, picked up two nominations for best feature and best screenplay. It will also be awarded a special jury prize for its cast of Olivia Colman (considered an Oscars favorite for playing the monarch), Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz.

The Gotham Awards, presented by the Independent Film Project, are decided by small committees of journalists and film critics. Nevertheless, on the mad dash to the Oscars, the ceremony has become the Iowa caucus of awards season because of its early date. Last year, “Get Out” lead the pack of films, planting its foot in the Academy Awards race. The year before that, “Manchester by the Sea” emerged as a frontrunner.

This year’s other best feature Gotham nominees include Barry Jenkins’ “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “Madeline’s Madeline” and “The Rider.”

The 26 annual Gotham Awards will be held on Nov. 26 at Cipriani Wall Street. See the full list of nominees below:

Best Feature
“The Favourite” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
“First Reformed (A24)
“If Beale Street Could Talk” (Annapurna Pictures)
“Madeline’s Madeline” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
“The Rider” (Sony Pictures Classics)

Best Documentary
“Bisbee ‘17” (4th Row Films)
“Hale County This Morning, This Evening” (The Cinema Guild)
“Minding the Gap” (Hulu & Magnolia Pictures)
“Shirkers” (Netflix)
“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” (Focus Features)

Best Actor
Adam Driver in “BlacKkKlansman” (Focus Features)
Ben Foster in “Leave No Trace” (Bleecker Street)
Richard E. Grant in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Ethan Hawke in “First Reformed” (A24)
Lakeith Stanfield in “Sorry to Bother You” (Annapurna Pictures)

Best Actress*
Glenn Close in “The Wife” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Toni Collette in “Hereditary” (A24)
Kathryn Hahn in “Private Life” (Netflix)
Regina Hall in “Support the Girls” (Magnolia Pictures)
Michelle Pfeiffer in “Where is Kyra?” (Paladin and Great Point Media)
*The 2018 Best Actress nominating committee also voted to award a special Gotham Jury Award to Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz for their ensemble performance in The Favourite. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Breakthrough Actor
Yalitza Aparicio in “Roma” (Netflix)
Elsie Fisher in “Eighth Grade” (A24)
Helena Howard in “Madeline’s Madeline” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
KiKi Layne in “If Beale Street Could Talk” (Annapurna Pictures)
Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie in “Leave No Trace” (Bleecker Street)

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Ari Aster for “Hereditary” (A24)
Bo Burnham for “Eighth Grade” (A24)
Jennifer Fox for “The Tale” (HBO)
Crystal Moselle for “Skate Kitchen” (Magnolia Pictures)
Boots Riley for “Sorry to Bother You” (Annapurna Pictures)

Best Screenplay
“The Favourite,” Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
“First Reformed,” Paul Schrader (A24)
“Private Life,” Tamara Jenkins (Netflix)
“Support the Girls,” Andrew Bujalski (Magnolia Pictures)
“Thoroughbreds,” Cory Finley (Focus Features)

Breakthrough Series – Long Form
“Alias Grace,” (Netflix)
“The End of the F***ing World,” (Netflix)
“Killing Eve” (BBC America)
“Pose” (FX Networks)
“Sharp Objects,” (HBO)

Related stories

New York Film Festival Swings in Artier Direction

Rachel Weisz Selected for Gotham Awards Actress Tribute

7 Observations From the Venice Film Festival

Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts!