"Half Nelson," the critically
acclaimed Brooklyn-based film about the unconventional relationship
between a young female student and her crack-addled teacher,
took home fully half of the prestigious Gotham Awards Tributes
for career achievement given out by the Independent Feature Project
this week.
IFP recognizes filmmakers and actors who work outside of the
conventional "committee" setting of the major studios
and relies on juries of accomplished filmmakers like John Singleton
and actors like Stanley Tucci to select the award recipients.
This year, a jury that included Ellen Barkin, Jennifer Jason
Leigh and Liev Schreiber selected the Red-Hook-born Shareeka
Epps for the Breakthrough Actor Award.
In "Half Nelson," Epps’s 16-year-old character develops
an unlikely friendship with a troubled teacher played by Ryan
Gosling. (Epps shared the award with Rinko Kikuchi, who starred
in "Babel.")
"Half Nelson" also won Best Feature, while director
Ryan Fleck was awarded the Breakthrough Director Award.
Fleck filmed the movie in Red Hook, East New York, Fort Greene,
and other Brooklyn neighborhoods, and cast a number of native
Brooklynites in key roles. (Epps and Gosling are pictured at
left.)
The Gotham Awards will be broadcast on Dec. 6 on NYCTV’s Channel
25 at 9 pm, and via Web cast on Dec. 4 at www.ifilm.com.
