IFP/New York hasannounced nominees for its inaugural best feature and best documentarycategories at The Gotham Awards and named Mike Leigh this year's recipient ofthe Filmmaker Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Officials added that DanTalbot will receive the Industry Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition ofhis work at New Yorker Films in introducing classic foreign language picturesand American independents to the US marketplace.

The best featurenominees are Richard Linklater's Before Sunset, Michael Gondry's Eternal Sunshine OfThe Spotless Mind, DavidO Russell's I Heart Huckabees, Shane Carruth's Primer, and Alexander Payne's Sideways.

Documentarycontenders are Jonathan Demme's The Agronomist, Ross McElwee's Bright Leaves, Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, Jessica Yu's In The Realms Of TheUnreal, and JonathanCaouette's Tarnation.

The new categories were announced in June and are open tofilmmakers from outside New York City. The winners will be selected andannounced at the 14th Annual Gotham Awards gala on Dec 1.

Leigh, currentlyriding high after winning the Golden Lion at Venice for his abortion drama VeraDrake, follows in a longline of Lifetime Achievement recipients that includes Robert DeNiro, MerylStreep and Martin Scorsese.

"We couldn't be more delighted to celebrate not onlyLeigh's lengthy career, but to do so at a time when he has one of his finest filmsin release," IFP/New York executive director Michelle Byrd said in a statement.

"It is aparticularly unique opportunity for us to pay a debt of gratitude to Leigh'stremendous influence on the numerous American independent filmmakers whom hehas inspired with his thoughtful and inclusive process of working with actorsthrough the rehearsal process and the development of their characters."

Leigh has beennominated for three Academy Awards, namely best screenplay for Topsy-Turvy in 1999 and best directing and bestscreenplay for Secrets And Lies in 1997. His other notable credits include Naked and High Hopes.