The Descendants, Martha earn three Gotham nods apiece

All in all 24 films are among the nominees across six competitive categories for best feature, documentary, breakthrough director, breakthrough actor, best ensemble and Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You. 

Charlize Theron, Gary Oldman, David Cronenberg and Tom Rothman will each be presented with a career tribute during the ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street.

The nominees for the 21st Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards are:

Best feature
Beginners
The Descendants (pictured)
Meek’s Cutoff
Take Shelter
The Tree Of Life

Best documentary
Better This World
Bill Cunningham New York
Hell And Back Again
The Interrupters
The Woodmans

Best ensemble performance
Beginners
(Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Mélanie Laurent, Goran Visnjic, Kai Lennox, Mary Page Keller, Keegan Boos)

The Descendants
(George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel)

Margin Call
(Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci, Aasif Mandvi)

Martha Marcy May Marlene
(Elizabeth Olsen, Christopher Abbott, Brady Corbet, Hugh Dancy, Maria Dizzia, Julia Garner, John Hawkes, Louisa Krause, Sarah Paulson)

Take Shelter
(Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Tova Stewart, Shea Whigham, Katy Mixon, Kathy Baker, Ray McKinnon, Lisagay Hamilton, Robert Longstreet)

Breakthrough director
Mike Cahill, Another Earth
Sean Durkin, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Vera Farmiga, Higher Ground
Evan Glodell, Bellflower
Dee Rees, Pariah

Breakthrough actor
Felicity Jones, Like Crazy
Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Harmony Santana, Gun Hill Road
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
Jacob Wysocki, Terri

Best Film Not Playing At A Theater Near You
Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same
Green
The Redemption Of General Butt Naked
Scenes Of A Crime
Without

To be eligible, entries must be American (US-based or US-born directors and producers), feature-length films “made with a point of view”, distributed independently with an economy of means.

New this year is the Calvin Klein Spotlight On Women Filmmakers ‘Live The Dream’ grant, a $25,000 cash award for an alumnus of IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs. The nominated directors are: Jenny Deller, Future Weather; Lucy Mulloy, Una Noche; and Rola Nashef, Detroit Unleaded.

The second Annual Gotham Independent Film Audience Award will be voted on by the public. To be eligible, a US film must have won an audience award at one of the top 50 US or Canadian film festivals from November 2010 through October 2011. The nominees will be announced on Nov 7 and the winner will be unveiled at the ceremony.

“The high calibre of this year’s Gotham Awards nominees’ work is truly remarkable,” said IFP executive director Joana Vicente Director. “This extraordinary group of filmmakers and talent, both established and new, are breaking barriers and finding fresh, innovative ways to engage audiences through unique storytelling.  We’re passionate about shedding light on well deserved independent cinema and excited to begin what is sure to be a momentous awards season.”