The first real ballot of awards season landed Oct. 27, and it put Black artists at the front of the line. "Clarissa," from Nigerian filmmakers Arie and Chuko Esiri, tied for the most nominations at the 36th Gotham Film Awards, and Black artists turned up across nearly every major category.
The Gotham Film & Media Institute named 42 films and 25 performances in 11 categories. "Clarissa," "All of a Sudden," "La Gradiva," "The Invite" and "Tender Loving Care" lead with four nominations each. Committees of critics, journalists and programmers chose the nominees; separate juries of filmmakers and actors pick the winners, who will be named Nov. 30 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York.
The Gothams are the earliest honors of the season. They don't predict the Oscars, but they set the first conversation, and this year that conversation starts with who got in and who didn't.
'Clarissa' comes out of the gate strong
"Clarissa" picked up Best Feature, Best Adapted Screenplay for Chuko Esiri, Outstanding Lead Performance for Sophie Okonedo and Breakthrough Performer for India Amarteifio. Cup of Soul has seen it. Okonedo has been doing award-caliber work for two decades, and Amarteifio's nod marks her as a name to watch. The question now is whether the Esiris' NEON release can turn its Gotham haul into a longer run.
Black artists across the ballot
Beyond "Clarissa," the Black presence on this year's slate is wide:
Mahershala Ali earned Outstanding Lead Performance for Bassam Tariq's "Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother," and his co-star Adia is nominated for Breakthrough Performer.
Shatara Michelle Ford's "Dreams in Nightmares" is in the Best Feature race.
Aleshea Harris is a Breakthrough Director nominee for "Is God Is."
Antoine Fuqua's "Michael" is up for the returning Gotham Audience Award.
David Greaves' "Once Upon a Time in Harlem," which we saw at Sundance, is nominated for Best Documentary Feature.
Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo's "Ben'Imana" is a Best International Feature nominee.
The snubs
The loudest omission is in documentary. Ava DuVernay's "14th," her companion to "13th" on citizenship and the 14th Amendment, leads the Critics Choice Documentary Awards with six nominations and still missed the Gotham lineup entirely.
"La Bola Negra," the TIFF People's Choice winner, was never eligible for Best Feature under the category's rules. It still landed a Breakthrough Performer nod for Guitarricadelafuente and a slot in the Audience Award race.
Films we've seen that scored
Several titles from our festival coverage came away with nominations: "The Invite" (four, including Best Feature, Best Adapted Screenplay and Supporting Performance for Penélope Cruz), "Possible Love" (three, including Lead Performance for Jeon Do-yeon), "Wild Horse Nine" (Best Original Screenplay and Lead Performance for John Malkovich) and "Once Upon a Time in Harlem."
2026 Gotham Film Awards nominees
Best Feature: "Clarissa"; "Club Kid"; "The Debut"; "Dreams in Nightmares"; "The Invite"; "Josephine"; "Mouse"; "Paper Tiger"; "Primetime"; "Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma"; "Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother"
Best International Feature: "All of a Sudden"; "Ben'Imana"; "Blue Heron"; "Everytime"; "Fatherland"; "Filipiñana"; "La Gradiva"; "Minotaur"; "Possible Love"; "Tender Loving Care"
Best Documentary Feature: "Closure"; "A Fox Under a Pink Moon"; "NAZA"; "Once Upon a Time in Harlem"; "You Can See Everything"
Best Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi, "All of a Sudden"; Sandra Wollner, "Everytime"; Andrey Zvyagintsev, "Minotaur"; Jane Schoenbrun, "Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma"; Mike Leigh, "Tender Loving Care"
Breakthrough Director: Sophy Romvari, "Blue Heron"; Jordan Firstman, "Club Kid"; Aleshea Harris, "Is God Is"; Marine Atlan, "La Gradiva"; Joel Alfonso Vargas, "Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo)"; John Early, "Maddie's Secret"
Best Original Screenplay: "Everytime"; "La Gradiva"; "Possible Love"; "Tender Loving Care"; "Wild Horse Nine"
Best Adapted Screenplay: "All of a Sudden"; "Clarissa"; "The Invite"; "Minotaur"; "Primetime"
Outstanding Lead Performance: Mahershala Ali, "Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother"; Gillian Anderson, "Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma"; Jeon Do-yeon, "Possible Love"; John Early, "Maddie's Secret"; John Malkovich, "Wild Horse Nine"; Ian McKellen, "The Christophers"; Julianne Moore, "The Debut"; Sophie Okonedo, "Clarissa"; Andrew Scott, "Elsinore"; John Turturro, "The Only Living Pickpocket in New York"
Outstanding Supporting Performance: Tom Courtenay, "Queen at Sea"; Esmé Creed-Miles, "Sense and Sensibility"; Penélope Cruz, "The Invite"; Adam Driver, "Paper Tiger"; Andrew Garfield, "Artificial"; Skyler Gisondo, "Primetime"; Sandra Hüller, "Fatherland"; Kate O'Flynn, "Tender Loving Care"; Tao Okamoto, "All of a Sudden"; Channing Tatum, "Josephine"
Breakthrough Performer: Adia, "Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother"; India Amarteifio, "Clarissa"; Guitarricadelafuente, "La Bola Negra"; Colas Quignard, "La Gradiva"; Mason Reeves, "Josephine"
Gotham Audience Award: "Backrooms"; "La Bola Negra"; "The Drama"; "The Invite"; "Michael"; "Obsession"; "Project Hail Mary"; "You Can See Everything"
Follow the whole race, category by category, on the Cup of Soul Awards Tracker. Our next update comes with the Gotham winners Nov. 30.
