'The Diary of a Teenage Girl' Leads 25th IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards Nominations



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The 2015-16 awards season is officially underway now that IFP has announced the nominees for the 25th Gotham Independent Film Awards. As has been previously reported, this year the Gotham Awards will include a Best Screenplay Award, bringing its total honors count up eight prizes. Additionally, “Carol” director Todd Haynes will be honored with the Directors Tribute, while Helen Mirren and Robert Redford receive the Actress and Actor Tributes, respectively.

While the Gotham Independent Film Awards are not historically a precursor to the Oscars, they often overlap in nominees and usually get to highlight performances and films that would never make it to the larger award ceremonies. This year, big award contenders like “Carol,” “Spotlight” and “Room” all secured nominations, but so did smaller titles that have been some of the most well-reviewed indie releases of the year like “Heaven Knows What,” “Tangerine” and “The Diary of a Teenage Girl,” which leads this year’s crop with 4 nominations.

Twenty writers, critics and programmers participated in the nomination process, including Indiewire’s own Deputy Editor and Chief Film Critic Eric Kohn. The 25th IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards will take place November 30 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. Below are the 2015 nominees.

Best Feature

“Carol”

“The Diary of a Teenage Girl”

“Heaven Knows What”

“Spotlight”

“Tangerine”

Best Documentary



“Approaching the Elephant”

“Cartel Land”

“Heart of a Dog”

“Listen to Me Marlon”

“The Look of Silence”

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director

Desiree Akhavan for “Appropriate Behavior”

Jonas Carpigano for “Mediterranea”

Marielle Heller for “The Diary of a Teenage Girl”

John Magary for “The Mend”

Josh Mond for “James White”



Best Screenplay



“Carol,” Phyllis Nagy

“The Diary of a Teenage Girl,” Marielle Heller

“Love & Mercy,” Oren Moverman and Michael Alan Lerner

“Spotlight,” Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer

“While We’re Young,” Noah Baumbach

Best Actor



Christopher Abbott in “James White”

Kevin Corrigan in “Results”

Paul Dano in “Love & Mercy”

Peter Sarsgaard in “Experimenter”

Michael Shannon in “99 Homes”



Best Actress



Cate Blanchett in “Carol”

Blythe Danner in “I’ll See You in My Dreams”

Brie Larson in “Room”

Bel Powley in “The Diary of a Teenage Girl”

Lily Tomlin in “Grandma”

Kristen Wiig in “Welcome to Me “

Breakthrough Actor

Rory Culkin in “Gabriel”

Arielle Holmes in “Heaven Knows What”

Lola Kirke in “Mistress America”

Kitana Kiki Rodriguez in “Tangerine”

Mya Taylor in “Tangerine” Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci and Brian D’Arcy James for their ensemble work in “Spotlight.”

READ MORE: Todd Haynes to Receive Director Tribute at 25th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards

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