Chloe Zhao’s The Rider snagged the top award for Best Feature at 2018 Gotham Independent Film Awards, but the night really belonged to Eighth Grade and First Reformed, who each won two awards, the most of the night.  Eighth Grade won the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award for director Bo Burnham and Breakthrough Actor for Elsie Fisher; and First Reformed won the awards for Best Screenplay for Paul Schrader, along with Best Actor for Ethan Hawke.

Documentary films were well represented this year with Hale County This Morning, This Evening directed by RaMell Ross taking home the award for Best Documentary; and another documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? directed by Morgan Neville, won the IFP Gotham Audience Award.

The Favourite continued to dominate the early awards circuit winning the Special Jury Award For Ensemble Performance for Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz

Winners of 2018 Gotham Independent Film Awards

Best Feature
The Rider
Chloe Zhao, Director;
Bert Hamelinck, Chloé Zhao, Mollye Asher, Sacha Ben Harroche, Producers (Sony Pictures Classics)

Best Documentary
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
RaMell Ross, Director;
Joslyn Barnes, RaMell Ross, Su Kim, Producers (The Cinema Guild)

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade

Best Screenplay
Paul Schrader, First Reformed

Best Actor
Ethan Hawke, First Reformed

Best Actress
Toni Collette, Hereditary

Breakthrough Actor
Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade

Breakthrough Series – Long Form
Killing Eve

Breakthrough Series – Short Form
195 Lewis

Special Jury Award For Ensemble Performance
The Favourite: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz

IFP Gotham Audience Award: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?