The 36th Annual Gotham Film Awards, presented by the Gotham Film & Media Institute, are among the first major honors of the film awards season and recognize outstanding achievement in independent and groundbreaking cinema. Held each year in New York City, the Gothams celebrate both emerging and established filmmakers and performers across ten competitive feature film categories.
Ceremony November 30, 2026
2/3 train to Wall Street; 4/5 train to Wall Street; J/Z train to Broad Street
The Gotham Film Awards are the unofficial starting gun of awards season, and the 36th edition lands on Monday, November 30, 2026, at Cipriani Wall Street in Lower Manhattan. Presented by the Gotham Film & Media Institute, the night honors independent and boundary-pushing cinema across ten competitive feature film categories. The room itself is invitation-only, but the ceremony is set to stream for the rest of us.
What is Gotham Awards?
If you follow the Oscar race, you already know the Gothams, even if you do not always know you know them. Held each year in New York City, they are among the earliest major honors of the film awards calendar, which means they often set the tone for the conversation that follows through winter. A win here does not guarantee anything in March, but it does get a film talked about at the exact moment people are deciding what to see.
The Gotham Film & Media Institute runs the show, and the mission has stayed consistent: celebrate outstanding achievement in independent and groundbreaking film, and give equal weight to emerging voices and established ones. That balance shows up in the category list. Alongside Best Feature and Best Director you get Breakthrough Director and Breakthrough Performer, awards built to put a spotlight on people the wider industry may not have caught up to yet.
The track record speaks for itself. Spotlight took the top prize in 2015, Moonlight in 2016, Marriage Story in 2019. More recently, Everything Everywhere All at Once won Best Feature in 2022, Past Lives in 2023, A Different Man in 2024 and One Battle After Another in 2025. That is a lineup of films that went on to define their respective years, and the Gothams got there first.
There is also a hometown angle that matters to anyone reading this site. This is a New York institution, staged in New York, with a New York sensibility about what counts as important filmmaking. It is not a coastal afterthought. It is the city’s own night.
Nominees and highlights
Here is where things stand for 2026. The nominations are scheduled to be announced on October 27, 2026, according to Deadline, so as of now the competitive slate is still under wraps. When the list drops, it will cover ten feature film awards:
- Best Feature
- Best Documentary Feature
- Best International Feature
- Best Director
- Breakthrough Director
- Best Original Screenplay
- Best Adapted Screenplay
- Outstanding Lead Performance
- Outstanding Supporting Performance
- Breakthrough Performer
One honoree is already confirmed. Deadline reported that Danny Boyle will receive the Gotham Director Tribute for his film Ink, which opened the 2026 Venice Film Festival. The tributes are a reliable highlight of the evening, giving the room a chance to stand up for a career rather than a single awards race, and Boyle is a filmmaker who has never been short on energy, so expect a lively moment.
Beyond that, no additional tributes, presenters or hosts have been announced. We will update as the Gotham Film & Media Institute releases more, but for now the smart move is to circle October 27 on your calendar for nominations and November 30 for the ceremony itself.
For context on what the categories can look like, last year’s ceremony saw Jafar Panahi win both Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for It Was Just an Accident, while Sopé Dìrísù took Outstanding Lead Performance and Wunmi Mosaku won Outstanding Supporting Performance. The year before, Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin were among the acting honorees. The Gothams tend to reward performances that feel alive rather than merely polished, and that is a good lens for guessing who might show up on this year’s list.
How to watch
Let’s be upfront: you are not getting a seat at Cipriani Wall Street unless someone in the industry sends you an invitation. The ceremony is a private, industry event, and there are no public tickets.
The good news is that the show is set to be livestreamed on The Gotham’s official YouTube channel, based on how the event has been handled in prior years. Specific stream details for 2026, including start time, have not been confirmed yet. Keep an eye on the official Gotham site and its social channels as the date approaches, and expect the stream link to surface in the days leading up to November 30.
If you happen to be among the invited, the venue is at 55 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005. Getting there is easy from anywhere in the five boroughs. Take the 2 or 3 train to Wall Street, the 4 or 5 train to Wall Street, or the J or Z train to Broad Street, and you are a short walk from the door. Lower Manhattan on a Monday night in late November will be chilly and the Financial District empties out after work hours, so build in a few extra minutes and dress for the walk from the subway.
For everyone watching from home, a practical tip: the Gothams reward films that are often still in limited release at the end of November. Make a list of the nominees after October 27 and see what you can catch in theaters before the ceremony. Watching the show with a few of the contenders already under your belt makes the whole thing much more fun.
Frequently asked questions
Who has won any Gotham Film Award awards?
The Gothams have a long roster of notable winners. Recent Best Feature winners include One Battle After Another (2025), A Different Man (2024), Past Lives (2023) and Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). Earlier top-prize winners include Spotlight (2015), Moonlight (2016) and Marriage Story (2019). On the acting side, recent honorees include Sopé Dìrísù (Outstanding Lead, 2025), Wunmi Mosaku (Outstanding Supporting, 2025), and Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin (2024).
Who are the Gotham nominees for the 2026 Gotham Awards?
Nominees for the 36th Annual Gotham Film Awards have not been revealed yet. They are scheduled to be announced on October 27, 2026. The ceremony itself takes place on November 30, 2026.
Where can I watch the Gotham Film Awards?
The November 30, 2026 ceremony is expected to be livestreamed on The Gotham’s official YouTube channel. The event at Cipriani Wall Street is invitation-only and not open to the general public.
Did Gotham win any awards?
The Gotham Film Awards is an awards ceremony, not a film or show that competes for prizes. If you are asking about past winners, recent highlights include One Battle After Another winning Best Feature at the 2025 ceremony, and Jafar Panahi winning Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for It Was Just an Accident.
How to watch Gotham Awards 2026?
The 36th Annual Gotham Film Awards on November 30, 2026 will be livestreamed on The Gotham’s official YouTube channel, based on prior year precedent. Specific 2026 stream details are to be confirmed closer to the date. The physical ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street, 55 Wall Street, New York, NY, is invitation-only.
Did the show Gotham win any awards?
This event is the Gotham Film Awards, a film and television awards ceremony run by The Gotham Film & Media Institute. It is not related to the TV show Gotham, and questions about that series fall outside the scope of this event.
Who are the nominees for the Gotham Awards in 2026?
The nominees for the 36th Annual Gotham Film Awards will be announced on October 27, 2026. The ceremony takes place on November 30, 2026 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York. Check the official Gotham site on or after October 27 for the full list.
Where are the Gotham TV awards held?
The Gotham Television Awards is a separate event from the Gotham Film Awards. The 3rd Annual Gotham Television Awards was held on June 1, 2026, in New York. The 36th Annual Gotham Film Awards takes place on November 30, 2026 at Cipriani Wall Street, 55 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005.
