Columbia University School of the Arts Film Program alumna Lisa Cholodenko ('97SOA) was nominated Monday for two Gotham Independent Film Awards in the Best Feature and Best Ensemble Performance categories, for her film "The Kids Are All Right" (Focus Features). The film premiered at Sundance in January 2010 and opened nationally to universal acclaim in July.
Tanya Hamilton, who attended Columbia University School of the Arts Film Program, was also nominated for a Gotham Award, in the Breakthrough Director category, for her film "Night Catches Us" (Magnolia Pictures). The film screened in U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.
Additionally, Film Program alumnus Nelson Walker ('08SOA) was nominated for an award, in the category Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You, for his film "Summer Pasture."
Film alumna Nicole Holofcener's ('88SOA) film "Please Give" (Sony Pictures Classics) was also nominated in the Best Ensemble Performance category.
As the first major awards of the film season, the Gotham Awards provide critical early recognition and media attention to worthy independent films. "The Hurt Locker," by Film Program alumna Kathryn Bigelow ('81SOA), won the Gotham Award for Best Feature in 2009 and went on to win Oscars for Best Feature and Best Director, the first two such Oscars to be won by a woman in Academy Award history; "Frozen River," by Film Program alumna Courtney Hunt ('94SOA) won the Gotham Award for Best Feature in 2008 and was nominated for two Oscars; and "Half Nelson," by undergraduate Film Studies alumna Anna Boden ('02CC, Film Studies major) won the Gotham Award for Best Feature in 2006 and waProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 nominated for an Oscar.
