Films, News, Television, Women Directors, Women Writers

Gotham Awards 2017: Nods for Greta Gerwig, “Fleabag,” “Better Things,” & More

Gerwig’s “Lady Bird”

Nominations for the 2017 Gotham Awards are in. While Greta Gerwig and Maggie Betts are both up for the Breakthrough Director Award for “Lady Bird” and “Novitiate,” respectively, none of the five films nominated for Best Feature are helmed by a woman. Plus, the Sabaah Folayan-co-directed “Whose Streets?” is the only film from a woman filmmaker nominated for Best Documentary. This marks a decrease from last year, which saw one narrative and two docs from women filmmakers receive nods.

Both coming-of-age stories, “Lady Bird” centers on a Catholic school student itching to get out of her hometown, Sacramento, CA, while “Novitiate” is about a secular-raised young woman who decides to become a nun. “Whose Streets?” spotlights the death of Michael Brown Jr. and the social movement it inspired.

Gerwig also picked up a nomination for writing “Lady Bird,” and the comedy’s star, Saoirse Ronan, will compete for the Best Actress award.

As compared to the film categories, women fared dramatically better in the Gotham TV nominations. Sixty percent, or three of the five, long form series nods went to women-created or co-created fare: Pamela Adlon’s “Better Things,” Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s “Fleabag,” and Sarah-Violet Bliss’ “Search Party.” All of those titles are dark half-hour comedies led by women. Meanwhile, 80 percent, or four of the five, short form nominations went to series from female creators: Kate Berlant’s “555,” Zoe Cassavetes’ “Junior,” Sarah Salovaara’s “Let Me Die a Nun,” and Nancy Andrews’ “The Strange Eyes of Dr. Myes.”

A committee of critics, journalists, fest organizers, and film curators picked this year’s Gotham nominees. The awards ceremony will be November 27 in New York City. Special tributes will also be given to Nicole Kidman and her “Beguiled” director, Sofia Coppola, among others.

All of the female Gotham Award nominees are below. List adapted from The Hollywood Reporter. (Note: When a male co-creator or co-director’s name is present, the woman’s name is in bold.)

Best Documentary

Whose Streets?
Sabaah Folayan, Damon Davis, directors; Sabaah Folayan, Damon Davis, Jennifer MacArthur, Flannery Miller, producers (Magnolia Pictures)

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award

Maggie Betts for Novitiate (Sony Pictures Classics)
Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird (A24)

Best Screenplay

The Big Sick, Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani (Amazon Studios)
Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig (A24)

Best Actress

Melanie Lynskey in I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore (Netflix)
Haley Lu Richardson in Columbus (Superlative Films/Depth of Field)
Margot Robbie in I, Tonya (NEON)
Saoirse Ronan in Lady Bird (A24)
Lois Smith in Marjorie Prime (FilmRise)

Breakthrough Actor

Mary J. Blige in Mudbound (Netflix)
Brooklynn Prince in The Florida Project (A24)

Breakthrough Series — Long Form

Better Things
Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K., creators; Dave Becky, M. Blair Breard, Louis C.K., Pamela Adlon, executive producers (FX Networks)

Fleabag
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, creator; Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Harry Williams, Jack Williams, executive producers (Amazon)

Search Party
Sarah-Violet Bliss, Charles Rogers, Michael Showalter, creators; Sarah-Violet Bliss, Charles Rogers, Michael Showalter, Tony Hernandez, Lilly Burns, executive producers (TBS)

Breakthrough Series — Short Form

555
Kate Berlant, Andrew DeYoung and John Early, creators (Vimeo)

Junior
Zoe Cassavetes, creator (Blackpills and VICE)

Let Me Die a Nun
Sarah Salovaara, creator (Vimeo)

The Strange Eyes of Dr. Myes
Nancy Andrews, creator (YouTube)

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