Awkwafina’s awards season is getting off to a solid start. She took home the Best Actress Award at the 29th Annual IFP Gotham Awards at a ceremony held Monday in New York City for her role in “The Farewell.” Lulu Wang’s pic is based on an actual lie and centers on a family who decides to lie to their grandmother about her terminal diagnosis. The “Crazy Rich Asians” breakout has been earning raves for her performance in the film since its world premiere at Sundance in January.
“American Factory” took home the honor for Best Documentary. Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar’s Sundance winner offers a look inside what happens when a Chinese billionaire buys a former GM plant in Ohio.
Taylor Russell scored the Breakthrough Actor award for her performance “Waves,” a drama about a suburban family coping with tragedy, and Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre snagged the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director trophy for “The Mustang,” which sees a convict working with wild horses as part of a rehabilitation program.
Women won big for their work on the small screen. Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us” was recognized in the Breakthrough Series – Long Format category, and Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, and Sam Zvibleman’s “PEN15” in the Breakthrough Series – Short Format category. The former tells the story of the Exonerated Five and the latter is a coming-of-age comedy that sees Erskine and Konkle playing 7th graders.
Check out all of the Gotham Award winners over at The Hollywood Reporter.
