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Riz Ahmed Wins Best Actor, Nomadland takes top prize at Gotham Awards

Nicole Beharie wins Best Actress, and Amazon nabs four trophies at the 30th Gotham Independent Awards.

by | January 11, 2021 | Comments

Gotham Awards Logo

(Photo by IFP)

The 30th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards were awarded Monday night in New York during a semi-live virtual broadcast. The Gothams honor films that encapsulate every facet of modern independent cinema and pay tribute to the industry’s best, including a tear-jerking tribute to Chadwick Boseman and stunned acceptance speeches from people like The Forty-Year-Old Version writer/director Radha Blank, who took home the prize for Best Screenplay. Amazon led the night with four wins, followed by HBO and Searchlight Pictures with two each.

Riz Ahmed took home the Best Actor trophy for his visceral performance of a drummer losing his hearing in Sound of Metal, while Nicole Beharie took Best Actress for her turn in the Texas pageant queen drama Miss Juneteenth. Newcomer Kingsley Ben-Adir was awarded the Breakthrough Actor prize for his role as Malcolm X in One Night in Miami, adding to a landmark year for representation as people of color took home prizes in most of the top categories. See below for the full list of winners.


Best Feature






Best Actor

Riz AhmedSound of Metal – WINNER
Chadwick BosemanMa Rainey’s Black Bottom
Jude LawThe Nest
John MagaroFirst Cow
Jesse PlemonsI’m Thinking of Ending Things


Best Actress

Nicole BeharieMiss Juneteenth – WINNER
Jessie BuckleyI’m Thinking of Ending Things
Youn Yuh-jungMinari
Carrie CoonThe Nest
Frances McDormandNomadland


Breakthrough Actor

Jasmine BatchelorThe Surrogate
Kingsley Ben-AdirOne Night in Miami – WINNER
Sidney FlaniganNever Rarely Sometimes Always
Orion LeeFirst Cow
Kelly O’SullivanSaint Frances


Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award

Radha BlankThe Forty-Year-Old Version
Channing Godfrey PeoplesMiss Juneteenth
Alex ThompsonSaint Frances
Carlo Mirabella-DavisSwallow
Andrew PattersonThe Vast of Night – WINNER


Breakthrough Series – Long Form






Breakthrough Series – Short Form






Best Screenplay






Best Documentary






Best International Feature







Jury Award for Ensemble Performance


Audience Award


Thumbnail image by ©Amazon

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