Paul Thomas Anderson’s protest epic One Battle After Another took Best Feature at the 35th Gotham Film Awards in New York on Monday night, while Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident swept three categories, signaling an awards season where a major studio release and a clandestinely made Iranian film share the spotlight.
Held at Cipriani Wall Street and presented by the Gotham Film & Media Institute, the ceremony crowned Anderson’s Warner Bros. drama, shot by cinematographer Michael Bauman, as the top film after it led the field with six nominations. Anderson joked from the stage that he had started to wonder “what was going on” as his film lost early categories, then thanked voters and marked his anniversary with partner Maya Rudolph during a brief, relaxed speech. The win underlines how the Gothams have changed since they scrapped a $35 million budget cap in 2023, opening the door to higher-cost contenders.
Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident emerged as the night’s dominant artistic statement, winning Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature after arriving with three nominations. Accepting by video, the filmmaker dedicated his screenplay award to “independent filmmakers in Iran and around the world… who risk everything with their faith in truth and humanity,” a pointed reference to colleagues working under censorship. The wins came only hours after a Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced him in absentia to one year in prison and imposed a two-year travel ban, a ruling tied to his outspoken support for protest movements and years of unauthorized filmmaking.
Acting honors went to performers anchored in global stories. Sopé Dìrísù earned Outstanding Lead Performance for British-Nigerian family drama My Father’s Shadow, while that film’s director, Akinola Davies Jr., picked up Breakthrough Director. Wunmi Mosaku won Outstanding Supporting Performance for Sinners, with Ryan Coogler accepting on her behalf, and Abou Sangaré took Breakthrough Performer for Souleymane’s Story.
Harry Lighton’s Pillion won Adapted Screenplay, and Julia Loktev’s My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow claimed Documentary Feature. Tribute awards spread the spotlight to high-profile work: Noah Baumbach received a director honor for Jay Kelly; Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman accepted a Musical Tribute for Song Sung Blue; Tessa Thompson was recognized for Hedda; and Guillermo del Toro joined Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi onstage for a Vanguard salute to Frankenstein.
The mix of winners kept the Gothams’ reputation for championing independent voices while acknowledging the commercial heft of awards contenders that will soon face larger voting bodies. With ballots still to come from critics’ groups and guilds, Anderson’s studio-backed protest saga and Panahi’s defiantly personal thriller leave Manhattan with the strongest early momentum.
