‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ to Receive the Inaugural Ensemble Tribute at the Gotham Awards

The Independent Filmmaker Project will now honor an ensemble cast with a new annual tribute at its award show. The inaugural ‘Ensemble Tribute’ will be presented to the cast of ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ at next month’s Gotham Awards. The new tribute is aimed at recognizing a group’s performance, dynamic and contribution to a film’s narrative. 

“We look to celebrate a film that demonstrates the collaborative nature of a group performance and the effect that it has in elevating each individual, and the overall story,” said IFP Executive Director Jeffrey Sharp. ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ follows the true story of seven anti-Vietnam War protestors who were arrested and charged following protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, the film stars Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Michael Keaton, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

IFP also announced plans to posthumously honor actor Chadwick Boseman with the Actor Tribute and Viola Davis with this year’s Actress Tribute. This will be the 30^th anniversary of the IFP Gotham Awards. They will take place virtually on Monday, January 11, 2021. 

The press release is below:

The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), announced today they will introduce a new annual tribute this year: the Ensemble Tribute at the2020 IFP Gotham Awards. In its inaugural year the award will be presented to THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin.  Previously a juried award, the tribute will honor the performances of a group of dynamic and noteworthy cast onscreen and celebrate their collective effort and contributions to the film’s narrative.  

The IFP Gotham Awards is one of the leading awards for independent film and signals the kick-off to the film awards season.  As the first major awards ceremony of the season, the IFP Gotham Awards provide critical early recognition and media attention to worthy independent films  and their writers, directors, producers, and actors with eleven competitive awards categories. The awards are also unique for their ability to assist in catapulting award recipients prominently into national awards season attention.  The 30th Anniversary of the IFP Gotham Awards ceremony will be held on Monday, January 11th, 2021. The awards show will be presented live from Cipriani Wall Street New York in a hybrid format featuring virtual interactive tables in order to follow health and safety protocols brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 features an ensemble cast of Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jeremy Strong, Mark Rylance, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Keaton, Frank Langella, John Carroll Lynch, Alex Sharp, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Caitlin Fitzgerald, Alice Kremelberg, and Ben Shenkman.  The film follows the true story of the Chicago Seven, a group of anti–Vietnam War protesters who were charged surrounding the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.  The film is currently available on Netflix.

“For our 30th Anniversary, we are proud to introduce a new tribute honor, recognizing excellence in an ensemble cast,” said Jeffrey Sharp, Executive Director of IFP.  “Starting this year and in the years to come, we look to celebrate a film that demonstrates the collaborative nature of a group performance and the effect that it has in elevating each individual, and the overall story.  Each cast member of THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 delivers an intricate and powerful performance, and we are delighted to celebrate them and their cumulative achievement.” 

It was previously announced that Chadwick Boseman will receive this year’s posthumous Actor Tribute, Viola Davis the Actress Tribute, Steve M^cQueen the Director’s Tribute, and Ryan Murphy the Industry Tribute.  For information please visit:http://gotham.ifp.org.

Tributes will be honored and winners presented live from Cipriani Wall Street New York in a hybrid format featuring virtual interactive tables.  To purchase virtual tables or tickets to attend, please contact Steven Pfeiffer by email at spfeiffer@ifp.org, or by phone at (212) 465-8200 Ext. 219. 

Sponsors

The Premier Sponsor of the 2020 Gotham Awards is The New York Times. The Official Auto Partner is Cadillac, the Official Water Partner is FIJI Water, the Official Airline Partner is JetBlue, the Official Wine Partner is Robert Hall Winery, and the Official Beauty Partner is The Estée Lauder Companies (Estée Lauder, MAC Cosmetics, and Bumble & Bumble).

About IFP

The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) champions the future of storytelling by connecting artists with essential resources at all stages of development and distribution. The organization, under the leadership of Executive Director and award-winning producer Jeffrey Sharp, fosters a vibrant and sustainable independent storytelling community through its year-round programs, which include IFP Week, Filmmaker Magazine, and the IFP Gotham Awards.

About the IFP Gotham Awards

The IFP Gotham Awards, selected by distinguished juries and presented in New York City, the home of independent film, are the first honors of the film awards season. This public showcase honors the filmmaking community, expands the audience for independent films, and supports the work that IFP does behind the scenes throughout the year to bring such films to fruition.

For information on attending: http://gotham.ifp.org