August 1, 2007 - The 2007 film awards season will kick-off in New York on Tuesday, November 27 with the 17th Annual Gotham Awards. Produced and presented by IFP, the Awards are expanding on two fronts this year with their move to the City’s newest studio complex, Steiner Studios, and with their new collaborations to present public programs related to the Awards. In addition, IFP has announced three of this year’s Gotham Awards Tributes: actor Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Love in the Time of Cholera, Before Night Falls), filmmaker Mira Nair (The Namesake, Monsoon Wedding, Salaam Bombay! ) and film industry veteran Jonathan Sehring, President of IFC Entertainment.

IFP will also collaborate with some of New York’s leading cultural organizations for the first time to present retrospectives of the Tribute individuals in the two weeks prior to the Awards. A retrospective of Mira Nair’s work will take place at IFC Center November 14 – 20; a showcase of some of Javier Bardem’s early films will take place at BAM Rose Cinemas at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) on November 24 – 26. In both instances, Nair and Bardem will be present for public Q&As. Returning for a second year to collaborate with IFP and its publication, Filmmaker magazine, is The Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) Film Department for the presentation of the five nominees for “The Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You” Award. The screenings at MoMA will be held November 16 – 19.

The Gotham Awards celebrate the independent voices behind and in front of the camera in the year’s best films. By recognizing that the best films come from a place that is more firmly rooted in the grasp of filmmakers – and not made by committee – and made with an economy of means, the Gothams salute the innovative films and filmmakers whose passion and vision make their way onto the screen year after year.

Four Tributes are presented as part of the Gothams, along with six competitive awards for Best Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Actor, Breakthrough Director, Best Ensemble Cast and Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You. Nominees for competitive awards will be announced on Monday, October 22. Final recipients of competitive awards are determined by separate juries comprised of writers, directors, actors, producers and others directly involved in making films. For submission criteria, visit http://gotham.ifp.org.

In moving this year’s awards ceremony to Brooklyn, the Gothams can more comfortably accommodate its 1,000 guests both during the cocktails and the awards presentation. The Gotham Awards will be promoted nationally via a partnership with The New York Times and locally via broadcast on NYC TV.

“Independent film is New York’s indigenous film culture,” says Michelle Byrd, Executive Director of the IFP. “What better way to underscore the importance of filmed entertainment in the City than by moving the Gothams onto a soundstage. Thanks to Doug Steiner, one of the chairmen of this year’s gala, we were able to make that dream a reality.”