By Creative Media Times

Independent entertainment company A24 was also a big winner of the night, taking home five trophies including for “First Reformed”, “Eight Grade” and “Hereditary”. The 28th Annual 28th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards was held Monday night in New York City, kicking off the awards season.

Toni Colette took home Best Actress for Hereditary, while a special Jury Prize was given to the cast of The Favorite including Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz.

But the big surprise is “The Rider,” the little film that could with no major Hollywood studio names attached and a cast of actors playing versions of themselves, winning Best Feature.

Director Paul Greengrass, actors Willem Dafoe and Rachel Weisz, and producer Jon Kamen all received tribute awards.

Here is the complete list of winners:
Best Feature
The Rider

Best Actor
Ethan Hawke in First Reformed (A24)

Best Actress
Toni Collette in Hereditary (A24)

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Bo Burnham for Eighth Grade (A24)

Breakthrough Series – Long Form
Killing Eve

Breakthrough Series – Short Form
195 Lewis

Breakthrough Actor
Elsie Fisher in Eighth Grade (A24)

Best Screenplay
First Reformed, Paul Schrader (A24)

Best Documentary
Hale County This Morning, This Evening–winner

The internationally successful action blockbuster from the director of ‘Stalingrad’
comes to digital platforms, blu-ray and DVD on December 4, 2018.

ATTRACTION is a big sci-fi action spectacle with state-of-the-art effects and production design, a film that stands alongside such blockbuster favorites as Independence Day, Pacific Rim and District 9. It is the latest film from renowned Russian filmmaker and actor Fedor Bondarchuk (Stalingrad, Dark Planet). He is currently filming a sequel for release in 2019.

Here’s the film’s synopsis:

A sinister unidentified flying object plummeting to Earth changes our view of humanity and life beyond our planet in the thrilling new sci-fi spectacular ATTRACTION. The film will be available across all digital platforms beginning December 4, 2018 along with a blu-ray and DVD release day and date.

Moscow finds itself on the brink of destruction after a mysterious spaceship crash-lands in the center of the city. While the government seeks to find out what the ship’s passengers want and how to protect the local population, the rest of the city residents break into conflicting factions. Some view the aliens as a threat that should be extinguished, while others hope that the visitors are peaceful and offer an opportunity to learn more about the world beyond.

When a young woman finds herself torn between her seemingly normal life and the alluring promise offered by one of the all-too-human extraterrestrials, the fate of the entire world is left hanging in the balance.

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By Creative Media Times

The Film Independent Spirit Awards unveiled 2018’s list of nominees, providing an early look at how the awards season is shaping up leading to the academy awards.

At the top of this list are “Eighth Grade,” “First Reformed,” “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “Leave No Trace” and “You Were Never Really Here” all of which received best picture nominations.

“We The Animals,” from director Jeremiah Zagar and based on the novel of the same name by Justin Torres, received the most nominations with five.

This summer’s documentary hit “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” received documentary nomination along with Minding the Gap, Of Fathers and Sons, Hale County, On Her Shoulders and Shirkers.

The nominees were announced at Los Angeles’ W Hotel by Crazy Rich Asians actress Gemma Chan and Saturday Night Live alumna Molly Shannon.

The 34th Spirit Awards ceremony will be held on their usual home at the beach in Santa Monica and will air on IFC at 2 p.m. PT on Feb. 23.

Check out the list below for the full list of nominees:

Best Feature
Eighth Grade
First Reformed
If Beale Street Could Talk
Leave No Trace
You Were Never Really Here

Best Director
Debra Granik, Leave No Trace
Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk
Tamara Jenkins, Private Life
Lynne Ramsay, You Were Never Really Here
Paul Schrader, First Reformed

Best Female Lead
Glenn Close, The Wife
Toni Collette, Hereditary
Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade
Regina Hall, Support the Girls
Helena Howard, Madeline’s Madeline
Carey Mulligan, Wildlife

Best Male Lead
John Cho, Searching
Daveed Diggs, Blindspotting
Ethan Hawke, First Reformed
Christian Malheiros, Sócrates
Joaquin Phoenix, You Were Never Really There
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Jaron Albertin’s WEIGHTLESS starring Alessandro Nivola, Julianne Nicholson, Johnny Knoxville and Eli Haley will open theatrically in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, November 9 with a national release to follow.

Alessandro Nivola, Julianne Nicholson, and Johnny Knoxville star in this haunting drama of a man, living on the margins of society, who suddenly finds himself responsible for a ten year-old son whom he hasn’t seen since infancy. An alienated loner who can barely take care of himself, he struggles to forge a relationship with this lonely, at-risk child.

Canadian director Jaron Albertin is a celebrated talent in the video and commercial world. In 2015, year he won the most prestigious award for advertising, the Palm d’Or at Cannes for his directorial work on Under Armour’sI Will What I Want campaign with Gisele Bündchen. His other numerous accolades include a Bronze Cannes Lion and additional Cannes Lion Shortlist, a prestigious D&AD Yellow Pencil (and additional Pencil nomination), Gold and Bronze Clio Awards, an AICP Award, and the PLUG Award for Music Video of the Year.

Weightless, co-written by BAFTA and Tony winning writer/playwright Enda Walsh (Once, Hunger) is his feature film directorial debut.

Weightless(official trailer)2018 from WEIGHTLESS on Vimeo.