Tom McCarthy’s ensemble drama further bolstered its awards season credentials by claiming best feature and screenplay honours at the IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards in New York on Monday.

Spotlight

The double-whammy was in addition to the previously announced special Gotham Jury Award presented jointly to Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci and Brian D’Arcy James for their ensemble work.

Last week Spotlight earned five Spirit Award nominations and has established itself as a strong best picture Academy Award contender.

Paul Dano scooped the best actor award for Love & Mercy, while Bel Powley took corresponding actress honours for The Diary Of A Teenage Girl after beating out Oscar frontrunner Brie Larson for Room.

Tangerine’s Mya Taylor earned breakthrough actor honours and Jonas Carpignano took the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award for Mediterranea. The Look Of Silence prevailed in the documentary category.

Career tributes went to Anonymous Content head Steve Golin, Helen Mirren and Robert Redford.

Inaugural TV honours were presented for long-form and short-form breakthrough TV series.

BEST FEATURE

  • Carol
  • The Diary Of A Teenage Girl
  • Heaven Knows What
  • Spotlight
  • Tangerine

BEST DOCUMENTARY

  • Approaching the Elephant
  • Cartel Land
  • Heart Of A Dog
  • Listen To Me Marlon
  • The Look Of Silence

BINGHAM RAY BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTOR AWARD

  • Desiree Akhavan for Appropriate Behavior
  • Jonas Carpigano for Mediterranea
  • Marielle Heller for The Diary Of A Teenage Girl
  • John Magary for The Mend
  • Josh Mond for James White

BEST SCREENPLAY

  • Carol, Phyllis Nagy
  • The Diary Of A Teenage Girl, Marielle Heller
  • Love & Mercy, Oren Moverman and Michael Alan Lerner
  • Spotlight, Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer
  • While We’re Young, Noah Baumbach

BEST ACTOR

  • Christopher Abbott in James White
  • Kevin Corrigan in Results
  • Paul Dano in Love & Mercy
  • Peter Sarsgaard in Experimenter
  • Michael Shannon in 99 Homes

BEST ACTRESS

  • Cate Blanchett in Carol
  • Blythe Danner in I’ll See You in My Dreams
  • Brie Larson in Room
  • Bel Powley in The Diary Of A Teenage Girl
  • Lily Tomlin in Grandma
  • Kristen Wiig in Welcome to Me

BREAKTHROUGH ACTOR

  • Rory Culkin in Gabriel
  • Arielle Holmes in Heaven Knows What
  • Lola Kirke in Mistress America
  • Kitana Kiki Rodriguez in Tangerine
  • Mya Taylor in Tangerine

BREAKTHROUGH SERIES – LONG FORM

  • Jane The Virgin, Jennie Snyder Urman, creator
  • Mr. Robot, Sam Esmail, creator
  • Transparent, Jill Soloway, creator
  • Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, creators
  • UnREAL, Marti Noxon, Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, creators

BREAKTHROUGH SERIES – SHORT FORM

  • Bee And PuppyCat, Natasha Alllegri, creator
  • The Impossibilities, Anna Kerrigan, creator
  • Qraftish, Christal, creator
  • Shugs And Fats, Nadia Manzoor and Radhka Vaz, creator
  • You’re So Talented, Sam Bailey, creator.