Iraq drama Hurt Locker wins Gotham awards
Iraq drama The Hurt Locker wins Gotham awards
Tuesday, 01, Dec 2009 09:11
By Lewis Bazley.
Acclaimed military thriller The Hurt Locker has been named best feature at the 19th Gotham Independent Film awards in New York.
The Kathryn Bigelow film, concerned with bomb disposals squads in Iraq following the 2003 invasion by western forces, took the top prize at the Manhattan ceremony on Monday night while its cast - Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce, David Morse and Evangeline Lilly - claimed the best ensemble award.
Catalina Saavedra beat Renner to the best breakthrough actor prize for Chilean drama The Maid while Robert Siegel - who penned 2008's The Wrestler - won the best breakthrough director award for his debut feature Big Fan.
Robert Kenner's Food Inc, about the changes in the US food industry, was named best documentary and You Won't Miss Me, directed by Ry Russo-Young, won the award for the best film still without a distribution deal.
As well as the six honours bestowed at the Cipriani Wall Street ceremony, special career tributes were presented, with Bigelow, actors Natalie Portman and Stanley Tucci, and producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner honoured.
The Gothams recognise low-budget, independent and art-house pictures and are viewed as an unofficial start to the film industry's awards season.